


Years Later

by gokuxguinevere



Category: Saiyuki, Saiyuki Gaiden
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bending, Elements, F/M, Gen, Gensomaden Saiyuki, Other, Saiyuki Gaiden - Freeform, Saiyuki Reload, Saiyuki Reload Blast, Years Later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-14 05:56:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8001046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gokuxguinevere/pseuds/gokuxguinevere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three years after their mission, they have started to live a normal life. They continued to grow up together, points of views have changed, some have remained and they are set to discover more as their lives go on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Everything in this book is purely my imagination made from the things I love the most.
> 
> To start off, I would just like to say that I have never been a fan of manga/anime. I found the genre very cute and outstanding with the different stories and all but I was simply not a massive fan.
> 
> Until some time in my schooling days, I came across Saiyuki Reload on TV. I watched one episode and somehow I was attracted to the story and of course, the characters. But it was only this series that I actually followed with.
> 
> It wasn't until late June this year when I have missed the series so I went and watched all three animes. I then proceeded to read the manga series.
> 
> You could say I fell more and more in love with the four characters and the story itself.
> 
> But like I said, I am not a fan of animes/mangas so I have very little knowledge about the genre. What I know about it are the ones I had picked out from the Saiyuki anime and manga, so some of you might point out (as you read the story) that there are parts that "should not be" in an anime/manga or whatever.
> 
> I might have to tell you that I am a massive fan of the European/American culture/entertainment and you might find that I mixed some of it with the story that I am about to write.
> 
> This is because I love mixing the things that I like together.
> 
> So if you are not interested in a story like this, do not read it. If you dislike reading mixed stories/entertainment/cultures, please stop reading and do not bother giving negative comments.
> 
> I would also like to point out two more things: that this story will be set in time like today's modernity and while playing around their age, it was too late when I found out that Sanzo was really 25, Gojyo and Hakkai 24 and Goku being physically 19.
> 
> I first read that their ages, except for Goku, were less than facts state. To be honest, I was always warped with the misleading fact that Sanzo was 24, Hakkai and Gojyo were both 23. But because I have imprinted on this, I will be sticking to it. But their actual and real age in my story will be three years more as it is in the setting of my book.
> 
> This site was made for writing our own pleasure and entertainment and I am simply giving into that.
> 
> Thank you.

Three years since the mission to stop Gyumaoh's resurrection. Three years since they have journeyed to the west. Three years since a very bloody revolution against the demons.

They took their victory with them. Anywhere they went, anywhere they had travelled, they were indeed the only outlaws who were given heroic titles.

Genjo Sanzo, 27, was still in charge of the Keiun Temple. Goku, Hakkai and Gojyo were given orders by the Three Aspects to continue protecting the temple along with Sanzo. But the three of them were advised to reside in a nearby village.

The village, being the biggest in the whole of Chang'an, resembled a modern day city. Technology was everywhere, shops of different kinds along the streets, even clubs that cater to those only of age.

Goku, now physically 22, Hakkai and Gojyo, both 26, have small apartments of their own in the village. Sanzo also has one of his own, as he claims he sometimes doesn't feel like staying in Keiun.

Hakkai was getting ready to meet Sanzo and the others in the temple. As he stepped out of the shower with nothing but a towel that wrapped around his hips, he opened the closet to look for clothes that would seem fit for the given weather outside. His cellphone rang once, hearing this only meant he had just received a text message. He pulled a grey t-shirt over his head as he walked towards the side table where his phone was resting.

 _Gojyo_ : Hurry up.

Gojyo was always first to finish fixing up. Hakkai came in second, Goku came in last. Counting Sanzo in this little competition would award him in a draw with Gojyo. But if he wasn't feeling it, he'd tie in with Goku at times.

 _"Just looking for a pair of pants."_ Hakkai replied as soon as he had spotted a pair of cream-colored jeans. He slipped onto them, put on a pair of shoes, grabbed his keys and headed out his apartment to find Gojyo standing in front of a nearby newspaper stand, munching on a donut as he read a few paper headlines.

"Has Goku finished?" He asked Gojyo who was now in deep with a men's magazine cover of a woman whose hands covered her chest and legs crossed to conceal that certain area.

"He's probably just finishing breakfast." He was proved wrong by Goku himself not a minute later, who came out with a can of cola on one hand and a sandwich on the other.

"Wow, you're out pretty quick? Thought we'd be waiting for about fifteen more minutes." Gojyo remarked.

"Sanzo said we should hurry up. He probably hasn't eaten breakfast yet. You know the temple only serves food when everyone is at the table." Goku said, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"You're right, he could be really hungry right now. He didn't eat much last night." Hakkai said as he took his phone out, checking the time.

"Come on, I bet you the longer we stay here, the thinner Sanzo's patience gets. Besides, I'm starving too." Gojyo turns around to start walking to the temple, followed by Goku and Hakkai.

The trip by foot wasn't far nor was it quick either. And because they were going through a narrow forest, Hakuryuu couldn't transform into Jeep. But they always enjoyed the trip to the temple as they claimed it served as a morning exercise for them. Though Gojyo says Sanzo would disagree.

Finally, they stood by the huge entrance to the temple. With one knock, a monk had gone to one of the balconies to see who it was. He smiled greatly at the sight of the three men who protected this temple from any form of harm. The doors slowly opened for them to pass and they marched up to the building at the center where Sanzo's office was.

Naturally, they found him at his desk doing paperwork. He had the same bored expression on his face. It didn't even light up when he saw his three companions by the doors to his office.

"It's about damn time you got here." He says, fixing the papers neatly. "Let's go."

They headed for breakfast, the monks had laid up different kinds of food before them, and they had started to eat.

"So why have you called us so early, Sanzo?" Hakkai questioned.

"I was hungry." Said the priest who did not show any form of enjoyment towards the food he was eating. No one really did know if he enjoyed the food since his face stayed motionless 90% of the time. "I didn't eat much last night."

"Yeah, I do recall." Hakkai said, dipping a spring roll in sauce.

"You know what," Gojyo started as the room fell into another silence, "we deserve a break. A vacation. We've been in this fucking temple for years and we haven't had a decent break!"

"Well, it was an order from the Three Aspects. Besides, without their command, after the whole revolution, we wouldn't even have a place to stay in." Hakkai remarked.

"Yeah, and convincing the Three Aspects for a vacation would definitely be a no from them." Goku finally spoke.

"But aren't you suckers tired of the same old thing? I mean, Goku, how many martial arts classes have you taught? You've probably lost count! And Sanzo, I'm damn well sure you're fucking sick of all the paperwork and watching over all the other monks. Hakkai? You and I have probably been a caretaker around the whole place!" Gojyo almost throws his chopsticks in mid-air as an exclamation to his exasperation.

"No doubt." Goku said, referring to Gojyo being right about him losing count to the many martial arts classes he's taught.

"If I were to be honest, I have been pondering over a break lately too." Hakkai chimed in again before he sipped on some of his Oolong tea.

"Finally! Someone who speaks my freaking language." Gojyo almost dances in his seat.

"I mean, it has been very---plain and boring. I am thankful to the Three Aspects for giving a home to each of us but honestly, this has been getting very old." Hakkai said.

"Yeah, besides, if we were granted a vacation, we can finance ourselves. For all I know, they could be worried we'd demand for their card like last time. Assholes." Sanzo says this time.

Goku looks up from his bowl of soup. "But we got our own..? Right? Why would they think that?" He asks. "We've been earning a lot too, not to brag to them, but only because we've been working hard for it. We were given jobs plus we fight and protect this place so we basically get paid, thus having our own income. What are they so worried about?"

"No, I meant, they think we'd overspend like last time and that we'll probably ask them to pay for a few expenses." Sanzo says.

"Haha, clearly, we've scared them about finances." Hakkai laughs at himself.

"Bullshit, we need a vacation. Since you all agree, I say we go see those floating heads after this and go talk them into letting us leave for a while." Gojyo drops his bowl and chopsticks and grabs a glass of water.

"I'm not quite sure we'd convince them, though, so I suggest you don't try at all." Sanzo finishes his bowl of ramen and reaches out for some dumplings.

Gojyo sighs, he hated to admit it but Sanzo was right. The Three Aspects would probably go on and on and rant about how much the temple is in need of assistance in many areas. But he remembers Goku had finished his most recent batch of martial arts class just yesterday, he and Hakkai had just finished replenishing supplies, checking and maintaining security two days ago. Sanzo's pretty much worn off about watching over the rest.

"We gotta give it a try, guys. Come on, don't bail out on me."

[*]

"A vacation, you ask?" The Neuter aspect asked.

"Yes." Hakkai answered quickly while Gojyo said "yeah".

"Why so, Genjo Sanzo?" The Neuter aspect asked again.

"I'm not in on this plan, ask those three." Sanzo said coldly, earning him a glare from Gojyo.

"What?! Don't act like you aren't craving for a leave away from this freaking temple!"

"You have performed well in the temple and have complied with our every command in the past three years. You four have indeed been loyal to the Keiun Temple." The Female aspect spoke ever so calmly.

Sanzo bowed his head down and made a face, _"like we had a choice"_ he told himself.

"You are granted permission to leave." The Female aspect said, making the four men before them look up too quickly that Goku thought he just broke his neck.

"Really?" Goku exclaimed. Clearly, none of them expected their wish to be granted.

"It seems that the Merciful Goddess is merciful enough to let you on it. After all, we have witnessed the great protection and service you've shown towards the temple." The Male aspect sighed.

Goku looked over to Hakkai, who had a very pleased expression on his face, and asked about who will continue to look over the temple just as they have.

Gojyo heard him ask and smirkingly said, "let them worry about that! If they've done it before when they sent us to go west then they could do it again."

Goku laughed and yelled an "alright!" at Gojyo's answer.

"The Goddess' reasons that allowed you to go on leave are unknown to us, we only know that she has allowed you to. We advise you to make the most out of this vacation as chances like this come very rare." The Male aspect reminded them. "You will never know when you can get another vacation."

Gojyo leans in to Hakkai and whispered, "geez, they're making it sound like we'll be slaving here for the rest of our lives."

"You may set off tomorrow. Use the remaining hours of this day to endorse everything you need to the other staff. Relay them well." With this final statement from the Female aspect, the Three Aspects dismissed Sanzo and the others.

On their way back to their respected places, Gojyo went on and on about how he plans on taking over every casino they'll come across with. Hakkai went about with wanting to experience a beach life. Goku desired trying other cuisines. Sanzo didn't speak but he was glad he's finally given an opportunity to rest and enjoy some time alone...with the other three tagging along.

They had arranged everything and relayed their tasks to the other monks who will be left in charge while they're gone. By the evening, Hakkai was done packing. He called Goku on his phone and asked if he's packed well.

"Yeah, I've packed enough for this trip. I don't know how long we'll be on this vacation but this will do." Goku said cheekily from the other end of the line.

"We don't even know where we'll be going, haha. This trip hasn't even started but we're already out of things to do." Hakkai said as he slipped on to his covers and slowly rested his head on his pillow.

"It's kinda like when we went to the west, isn't it? We really didn't know where we had to go to get to India, we just knew we needed to head west." Goku said, as he sat down on the edge of his bed, taking his shoes off.

"It seems like it, yes. Right now, we don't know where we'll be going, we just know we gotta go somewhere to take a vacation." Goku agrees from the other line. "You're sure you've packed everything you need?" Hakkai questions him again, hoping Goku would double check his things for the sake of reassurance.

"Hakkai, it's been years since we went to the west! I've grown and learned how to do these kinds of things. You've done your part watching over me, Gojyo and Sanzo." Goku smiled, reminiscing the many times Hakkai acted very motherly towards the three, especially to him.

It's been three years since they travelled together. Tomorrow, they'll be setting off into another journey. The differences in this one is that they get to choose their destination and they aren't in a hurry to accomplish anything, in fact, they needed to slow things down and enjoy what life has to offer.

As Hakkai bid him good night, Goku laid down on his bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.

During their journey to the west, he had discovered many things about life; the sacrifices, the blissfulness and the disappointments. He had tasted victory countless of times, but there were also times he needed to accept defeat. His many experiences and memories from their journey to the west made him the man that he is now.

_He was no longer a boy._

After that, they had resided in this village. Here, he grew up wanting to know more about life than how it is outside these walls. He was growing, Gojyo, Sanzo and Hakkai knew it and they needed to guide him.

Hakkai was there for him when he needed to learn how to do things on his own. He was no baby; he knew how to fight and live, after all. But Hakkai taught him to get his life together.

Gojyo was the one who introduced him to the many things he could do in this world though he didn't do much about this. Along the way, Goku learned how to have fun. At the proper time, he was finally allowed to drink whenever the other three had the chance to occasionally have a toast, but he knew not to abuse his health. He didn't turn out like Gojyo or Sanzo who would have alcohol whenever they ate outside the temple (although Hakkai rarely drinks, he finishes a four or five bottles on his own when he does without getting drunk). But during special occasions, like birthdays, he would drink to his extent.

Goku, at this stage, was indeed growing. Gojyo used to pick on him about being unable to flirt with girls. But eventually, Goku learned how to talk to one properly when he meets someone he fancies. Unlike Gojyo who would hit on every girl he comes across with, Goku never really talked to one unless he realized she was worth his time.

One similarity with Gojyo is that he had never fallen in a relationship. He would play around with girls too, though Goku does this _very rarely_ , unlike Gojyo. One of the very few things he learned from Gojyo was that people are people and sometimes, they have _needs_.

Because Sanzo cared deeply for Goku, he always made sure Goku wasn't becoming an asshole like he and Gojyo can sometimes be. But he would let Goku have his fun. He knew Goku was learning, experiencing and growing.

Something Sanzo would never tell anyone was no matter how proud he would feel about how Goku has grown, he couldn't deny it pained him a bit. It was hard to see the little boy he took in and cared very deeply for grow up into an independent man.

Goku reminisced the very first time he had a crush. He always laughed at the fact that he never found out her name despite having been with her for three or four days. He remembered the very day of her death as well.

Then came Donghua. She was a girl with three other sisters they met along their westward journey. He was greatly attracted to her beauty but he was too shy back then to even ask her out on a proper date. There were other girls he liked too, some of them he met on their way back to Chang'an from India and some at the village.

He rolled onto his side and watched the sky from his window. The stars were indeed countless, just like the many things he would discover once he, Sanzo, Gojyo and Hakkai unwind outside the walls of Chang'an. He wondered what places they would go to, the kind of people they'll meet, the kind of food they'll eat, and the memories they get to keep. His eyelids felt heavy though his heart swelled with excitement. _"I'm ready to see the world!"_ He yelled to himself as he drifted off to sleep, his eyes shutting close.


	2. Suitemates

It's been three weeks since they've left Chang'an and this time, it was Sanzo's turn to pick the itinerary.

They've passed India on their way to their current place and have noticed that many villages have reunited with demons. But some refused to accept the kind that once was the cause of terror and mayhem everywhere.

As they arrived in Sanzo's choice of town, Hakkai immediately looked for a nice hotel. Sanzo followed along while Gojyo and Goku roamed outside looking for their choice of entertainment; a nice restaurant to eat at and a nice bar to chill.

They grew up indeed but some things never change. They were somehow still the same old Sanzo Party.

Hakkai and Sanzo arrived at the third hotel they've visited in the last thirty minutes. "Hopefully they'd have rooms here or we'll be forced to travel to the next town. I heard even the small inns are full."

They approached the lady at the front desk and inquired for rooms, sad to say, the last one was booked last night. "Well, that's our call." Hakkai sighs. "We're gonna have to drive to the next one."

"The town nearest here will take two days time, sir." The kind lady advises the two men.

"Yes, but we have no choice." Sanzo interrupts with a voice laced between being cold and kind. He's been trying to rid of the attitude but fails most constantly.

"Well, I do have a suggestion, sir. Though it might not be of your liking." The lady chimes in pleasantly.

"What is it?" Hakkai questions.

"There's this really big cottage just behind this building, we call it the presidential suite. It's like a house, really, complete with everything inside; facilities and room-wise. It has 8 rooms. I am offering this because a group like you have been looking for a place to stay in too, they didn't really need the big space and the suite had too many rooms but they had no choice but to take it. I can call them and ask if they'd want to share the suite with you." The lady suggests.

Hakkai ponders this for a good three seconds and turns to Sanzo. "What do you think?"

"We got no other options. This is better than going for a two-day trip to the next town and possibly camping outside." He sighed. Having a vacation with the other three was more than irritating, having other company would probably worsen it knowing how his entire group behaves around people but then again, camping outside or driving for two days wasn't really what they would call a vacation.

"I'll call them right now." The lady says, picking up the telephone and dialing the number to the big cottage. While she exchanges on the phone, Goku and Gojyo step inside the lobby. Hakkai explains the situation while Sanzo lights up a cigarette, the other two sigh in disappointment. "Alright, thank you." The lady hangs up and the four men in front of her await her answer.

"They said it'd be fine. They've only checked in three hours ago but they'll be leaving for now to have lunch. I'll be arranging your keys."

The lady calls a butler to assist the four men with their luggage and he leads them to the presidential suite. Goku admires the entirety of the hotel's open-ceiling view, the sky was very blue and there were barely any clouds to be seen. The sun shone brightly but it wasn't exactly hot outside. As they arrived at the front door, all four of them grabbed their luggage from the trolley and the butler handed Hakkai their keys. He dismissed himself advising them to call the front desk if they'd be needing any further assistance.

Hakkai swung the door open to reveal a very spacious suite indeed, not too fancy but it was elegantly designed. There was a living room, across that was the dining area and kitchen. From the living room to the right, was a hallway with eight doors, four on each side. Gojyo gaped at the chandelier that hung on the living room ceiling, Hakkai admired the paintings that hung on every wall, Goku laid his stuff on the couch and Sanzo immediately went to the hallway where the rooms were.

"The rooms on the left are locked which means the others have chosen those. We'll take the ones on the right side." He announces.

They've placed their stuff in the rooms that were left vacant for them and Goku insisted on ordering for room service. "There aren't much good places around here to eat at. But everyone seems to be festive!"

"Yeah, the woman by the bar said there will be a lantern festival tonight." Gojyo raises his arms to stretch out.

"They're all probably preparing for tonight's event." Hakkai suggests as he picks the phone up to order room service.

"Call me when the food's here." Sanzo marches right back into his room and shuts his door lock. He takes off his shirt and throws it on the chair and slums himself onto his bed and lights up another cigarette.

He sits up and leans himself by the window and looks up at the bright sky. This was one of those moments he had when he would think back and breathe, taking in the reality that he's outside Chang'an, traveling with three others but not for the same reason they had last time. He chuckled deeply, still unable to grasp the fact that the Three Aspects had allowed them to take a vacation. All the while, he thought going for a leave was impossible because he was a priest; he needed to be at the temple unless he was sent off for another mission.

He never dreamed of becoming a priest. If he hadn't been rescued by his predecessor, Koumyou, he wouldn't have been in line. He only tried to achieve this goal and focused on it because of the deep affection he had towards his foster father. He wanted to be like the one who had raised him and so he did, becoming a Sanzo priest, that is. But even he knew his master, though an expert in his title of being a Sanzo priest, didn't conform to most ways their temple and teachings would require. He saw that his master was somewhat worldly, giving into the pleasures of Tobacco and alcohol, just not as excessive as he is. His master didn't even shave his head but instead, he let his hair grow longer. His master taught him that anything worth learning can be figured out on its own, other than that, he was also taught to hold on to nothing.

And maybe this was it.

At first he didn't want to admit it, but after their westward journey, he suddenly craved to experience the real world. After he attained his goal in recovering the Seiten and Maten Scripture and stopped the resurrection, he was able to get a glimpse of the world in the village. But maybe it's why he desired a vacation so much? Because the small village offered only a small portion of what the whole world could give.

He and Goku stayed in the Temple for ages. The one time they were set out to the world required him to stay as the priest that he is to be victorious in the battle.

After all that, he had raised his hopes to find his successor to pass the scriptures to as soon as fate could bring so he could finally live a normal life. He had gained peace about his predecessor's death and is no longer troubled by it. He even admitted to himself a part of him envied Ukoku Sanzo for having found himself a successor and being able to move on and live his life the way he wanted it to be. The only difference between them was that he wasn't bored to the point of desiring power, he wasn't sick-minded such as Ukoku, he wouldn't trick his own successor like the raven did his. He simply wanted to live his life normally.

The moment they were granted a vacation, he decided to leave his priesthood inside the walls of Chang'an until he came back. Part of this decision was stripping down from his white robes and dressing like a normal person.

The other three questioned why he changed clothes and he was transparent enough to say he wasn't on a mission nor was he dealing with paperworks or doing priestly tasks. He didn't have any other name to go with and he didn't want the other three to be calling him Kouryuu, so the only things he took with him from his priesthood were his Sanzo name and the sacred scriptures.

He looked to sun that shined bright as gold, it reminded him of his master whom he missed dearly. He closed his eyes and couldn't help but wish to change fate and be with the one who he looked up to in all his life.

[*]

Hakkai warned the other two about making a mess and scolded them off when he saw Gojyo tick some of the ashes from his cigarette just right off the center table. "...other people are staying in this place too."

"Yeah, yeah, allow them to clean it up since they're bound to make a mess too. Besides, we're sharing, we're gonna have to clean some of their's at some point." Gojyo blows off another puff of smoke.

"Please, Gojyo, try and tame your smoking habits. Go to your room like Sanzo, it's where he's keeping all his smoke."

"Wow." Goku appears from the hallway. "The view outside my room is nice! Staring out my window is probably going to be a habit."

Gojyo notices a brown stain on Goku's light blue shirt and points to it with his finger and asks where Goku got it. "Shit! It's teriyaki sauce from when I ate fried noodles earlier today. Dammit."

Goku didn't bother changing and decided he will after lunch is delivered and they've eaten.

An hour later, four of them scattered in the living room, talking about the many things they've done in the past days during their leave. While they bickered and laughed, Hakkai doesn't say anything about his current thoughts. He looked back on how they were when they travelled to India and he knew big things have changed. Not everything about his companions did, but their changes were very noticeable.

He tilted his head to Goku, who was listening intently to Gojyo, and realized how much his character has developed. _"He was always the one who called out for food but he wasn't like before, screaming "I'm hungry!" every 30 minutes. His fun and outgoing personality is still there but his maturity has been on display, too."_ He thought.

As it was Goku's turn to talk, he turned to Gojyo. _"He's still a lazy butt and sometimes, he still needs to be told about littering and making messes, but he's been less of a playboy now. He's still getting girls, flirting with them and such but he's kept it at a minimum."_ Hakkai's most proud of him now that he's able to look out for himself, meaning he's learned how to clean up and cook properly.

Finally, he turned to Sanzo, who he thinks has changed the biggest. He was still cold and icy towards people. He'd still threaten anyone who comes 3 feet near him and he'd still hit Gojyo and Goku with his fan whenever the two got annoying. _"But I can't be the only one who's noticed that Sanzo is actually a bit of a showy person?"_ Back in their journey to the West, the most amount of care he'd shown was towards Goku, but he made sure he'd act equally cold right after to show the others that he didn't have a soft side. Now, he's been displaying change of character by actually spending time with them, sometimes even ditching his tasks in the temple to simply have a drink in one of the clubs. Hakkai reminisced the time they went to a party in one of the places they usually hung out at. The party had a photobooth that would immediately print out photos after the shot was taken. Goku dragged all three of them (Sanzo was really annoyed) for a try and they had used the hats, robes and other costumes for the picture. They never really found out where they had lost the only printed copy of the photo until Hakkai needed to wake Sanzo up one time. He slowly entered the hot-headed priest's room and found the photo taped on the wall. He never told Gojyo or Goku about this because he knew both would make fun of Sanzo about it.

This had him wondering if Sanzo still _held onto nothing..._

Gojyo and Goku erupted into laughter, Sanzo into small laughs, and Hakkai was suddenly brought back to the current scenery that played right before his eyes. He noticed all the food was gone but he didn't bother cleaning up just yet and decided to join the other three as they talked and laughed about their most random moments.

Another hour later, they've decided to clean up. Hakkai went and washed the dishes, Goku swept the floor clean, Gojyo threw the remains of the dishes away neatly into the garbage bins and wiped the table. Lastly, Sanzo simply opened the windows to let the smell of cigarettes out. He added to the cleaning-up by spraying air freshener all over the place.

"There, good as new." Hakkai breathed the sweet smelling scent of roses from the air freshener Sanzo had just sprayed.

"It's making me sick." Sanzo said as he pulled a headband over his head to keep his hair away from his face and used his shirt to cover his nose.

Goku coughs as soon as he inhales the rosey scent. "Sanzo, the room smells so girly."

"It was the only scent Hakkai had."

"It was the only one left at the store."

"Why do you even have a can of air freshener with you?" Gojyo asked, sitting next to Sanzo on the long couch.

"I thought it'd be necessary." Hakkai sits next to the small couch that was next to Gojyo.

"Hey, Hakkai, do they have laundry service here?" Goku questions as he took his shirt off to change into a new and clean one.

"They fucking should, this place is bound to cost a fortune." Sanzo said.

"Yeah and why wouldn't they? This hotel has everything! Or maybe they got a washing machine somewhere...didn't that lady at the desk say this place had everything?" Gojyo turns the tv on and flicks through the different channels.

"I've checked, there isn't any. We're gonna have to look for laundry service. And we need to have our clothes washed before we leave town because I'm running out of clean ones." Hakkai confirms.

"Me too." The moment Goku had agreed with him, the sound of keys echoed from outside.

The doorknob rustled and turned, the door was gently opened...

...and three ladies appeared from the door frame.

"Oh." The one with the short hair gasped.

All four men were stunned by their sudden entrance.

"You must be our...room mates, yeah?" The girl with the short hair spoke again.

Goku was evidently shocked when he heard her spoke, her accent indicated they weren't from around here, or any town near here.

"Uhm, hello. Yes, that we are." Hakkai responded as the three girls proceeded to enter the cottage. He stood straight and stretched out his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Pleasure is ours." This time, the girl with long, brown, wavy hair answered him and shook his hand, her accent just as thick as the first one who spoke.

"Wow," Gojyo stood up from his seat and smiled almost cunningly at the sight of the three females before him, "we weren't told we were rooming with girls. Sorry, the place looks like a mess."

The three of them looked around, unable to detect the mess he was talking about. After all, they'd just cleaned the suite, where was the mess Gojyo was referring to?

"Oh yes, introductions, "the girl with the short hair said, "my name is Olivia. You can call me Liv. And these are my sisters," the other two stepped beside her as she motioned to them, "Scarlett and Gale." The other two stretched their hands out with a smile and shook hands with Hakkai, while Gojyo simply gazed at the three lovely ladies who stood before them.

"Nice to meet you all." Hakkai repeated.

"Call me Scar." The girl with the long, brown and wavy hair advised.

"Well," Gojyo stretches out his hand and took a step forward, "pleased to meet your acquaintances. I'm Gojyo, the one with the monocle is Hakkai, this blonde over here is Sanzo and that pipsqueak over there is Goku."

They had all exchanged shaking hands, smiles and nods, except for Sanzo, whose face stayed impassive.

"We assume you've had your lunch?" Gale questioned. She had long pink hair with black roots peaking from her head and her accent was very noticeable as well.

"Yeah, we have." Goku answered.

"That's good."

There was an awkward silence as the three ladies tried to make theirselves at home. Scarlett walked towards the dining table and sat there, taking her phone out and focusing on it, Olivia disappeared into the hallways where the rooms were and Gale pretended to be looking at something by the window.

Gojyo nudged Hakkai, who was unsure of what to do next. Sanzo didn't dare to associate with them, remembering the last time they encountered girls who happened to be sisters, too. They eventually learned that they had plans on killing him and his companions.

Goku stared at the tv that was shortly neglected.

Hakkai then thought of a way to ease the awkward air, though he was unsure if it would work. "Are you aware of the lantern festival that will be held tonight?" He asked, timing with Olivia reappearing from the hallway.

All three girls looked up with a smile. "Yes!" Gale answered. "We'll be going there and we planned on joining the event."

Goku looked at her. "You have lanterns of your own?"

"Oh no, we don't. But the kind lady who works at the restaurant we ate at said that there will be lanterns that will be given out tonight to anyone who would want to cooperate in the event." Gale answered again.

"Bless this town, they've got a lot of nice things going on, unlike the last one we've visited." Scarlett makes her way to the living room again where the conversation was being held.

"Definitely. The best we did back there was swim at the only spot tourists would have loved to visit." Olivia said sighing with an obvious disappointed tone.

Hearing Olivia say they went swimming only triggered Gojyo's imaginations to work. Knowing him well, Hakkai nudged him before he started drooling in space. "We'd be delighted to join the event, I heard lantern festivals are very rare ones and are barely celebrated in the parts of the world. Missing tonight's event would be a shame."

"...Hakkai." Sanzo growls from his seat, evidently telling him he doesn't wanna go to the festival.

"Should we go together?"

 _"Oh shit, yes please!"_ Gojyo told himself and mentally patted Hakkai in the back. He almost bounced from his seat.

"We'd be thrilled!" Gale exclaims. "The more the merrier."

Hakkai looked down on Sanzo who was already glaring at him but Gojyo continued to mentally praise him for that move.

"Do they just light the lanterns and hang them up or something?" Goku questions.

"No, I don't think so? We assume these are floating lanterns." Scarlett says.

"Yeah, just out of curiosity," Gojyo finally spoke, Hakkai turned to him making sure he didn't have a cunning expression, "we've pretty much guessed you aren't from around this place. Where are you lovely ladies really from?"

"Oh, the far west." Olivia drinks from her glass of water.

Altogether, the four of them remembered someone they knew who came from the same place, most probably even from the same exact country.

"England, to be exact."

"That explains the accent." Hakkai says, remembering a book he once read about monarchial countries.

"You've been to the UK?" Gale questions as she drags a chair from the dining table and stops almost near Goku and sits down.

"Oh no, I've read about it once in a library."

Goku raises his head again, "the UK...ah the one with the Queen as leader, isn't it?"

"That's right, mate!" Olivia beams at Goku. "You like books, Mr. Hakkai?"

Gojyo almost laughs when she said "mr.", "oh no need to call me Mister, Olivia. But yes, I try to pick up a book every once in a while and read to pass time."

"Well, no need to call me by my full name. Liv is fine." She says equally polite as Hakkai.

"So you're here for a vacation, then?" Gojyo asks.

"Yeah, that we are. It gets quite boring in England." Gale says, opening a candy bar she had pulled out her pocket.

"I've seen amazing pictures of England, they got this really big ferris wheel called the London Eye, right?" Goku says.

"Yeah, that one's a thrill to ride, especially when you get to the very top. But some people tend to get scared once the ride starts." Olivia spoke, eyeing the candy bar her sister opened.

"Are you on a trip as well?" Gale asks, with a mouth filled with chocolate that she tries to conceal.

"Yeah, we're planning to travel out of Shangri-La after this town." Gojyo said, pretending to scan the living room when he's really eyeing the girls out. His eyes always landing on Scarlett, who he thinks is the prettiest.

"We've been here in Shangri-La for about five weeks now, roaming every corner we find attractive. We, too, are planning to move out but it depends on the situation, I guess." Scarlett answered warily.

Hakkai and Sanzo noticed Olivia and Gale eye and glare at Scarlett carefully, as if they were telling her to make sure she doesn't say anything else.

This made Sanzo sit straight, careful for any sudden movements. He wasn't sensing anything wrong and that's what alerted him.

"Situation?" Hakkai tried to loop them up.

"The weather, really. We travel by plane, you see. We heard news of thunderstorms near the UK and we dislike heavy turbulence." Olivia says, staring at the floor, which Sanzo felt she was already avoiding eye contact.

"Yeah. It causes the plane to shake aggressively, as if it were going to fall thousands and thousands of feet from the sky." Gale also answered, staring right past Hakkai, as if she tried to maintain a straight gaze towards the men they were talking too.

Scarlett fiddled with her phone and made sure she looked busy enough to avoid more conversation but Sanzo gave one look at Hakkai insisting him to talk more just in case something slips by their lips.

"Well, there's still a lot of time before the festival. Are you girls planning to do anything else while waiting for it to start?" This was the best Hakkai could think of to maintain the conversation going. He looked at Gojyo who looked like he suddenly felt the same feeling he and Sanzo were getting.

"Ah, well, no. We were just going to hang out here and wait." Olivia answered awkwardly.

"Come on." Sanzo stood up and headed for the door, making Olivia and her sisters look at each other at this man's sudden decision to leave.

"Wha--where are we going?" Goku pulls his eyes away from the television. "What's up?"

"Yea---hey! Sanzo!" Gojyo stood abruptly and went after him. Sanzo never looked back as he opened the door and stepped out of the suite. "What the fuck..." The redhead whispered and looked back at the girls and smiled immediately, covering the irritation he felt towards Sanzo's actions. "Uhh, we'll see you later. Catch you at the festival." And he stepped out to follow his companion.

"Oh," Hakkai said, "we'll be going out for a while. We'll see you at the festival!" He gave a small wave and the three sisters gave their best smiles in return.

Goku stood up, "ah, yeah, see ya." Still confused, he followed Hakkai out the cottage. He tried to hide his confusion by flashing the girls a smile as well but his eyes definitely told the others he was puzzled.

Sanzo was outside the hotel, waiting for the other three. They finally caught up with him as he lit another cigarette, Goku being the first to break the silence.

"Hey, what's going on?" He asked.

"That was rather odd. Ahh, I really never was good at interacting with girls." Hakkai chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

"Did you feel anything?" Goku asked Sanzo as they all started walking away from the hotel.

"Oh yeah, I felt something alright." Gojyo put his arms at the back of his head with a great big smirk on his face, "I was feeling the need to ask that Scarlett out for a date. Until good 'ol Genjo here decided to walk the fuck out." He said, eyeing Sanzo with a slight glare.

"You mean you didn't see the way they exchanged glances?" Hakkai questioned. "I thought you felt it with the look on your face."

"The only thing I felt was a desire to date Scarlett. And what about their glances? Their sisters, goddammit, they're bound to have their secrets or inside jokes they can't tell." Gojyo sighed. "You guys are overreacting."

"Sure. That meant nothing at all. Not like we didn't encounter the same situation years ago; meeting a group of girls who happened to be sisters and turned out to be having a secret too. Let's not forget the fucking fact that the secret was they were really youkais who were on a mission to kill us in service for a parasitic demon." Sanzo said, his voice laced with sarcasm and irritation as he blew out a puff of smoke.

"Ah, you mean Donghua and her sisters... But Sanzo," Goku also puts his arms behind his head, getting his thoughts together, "they're from the other side of the world. What would they know about us? I didn't really feel anything. If they're here to kill us...I sort'a doubt it."

"You're quite right, Goku, but they seem a bit suspicious so I don't think we should relax. We're staying in the same place as they are." Hakkai said.

"I don't know if they're innocent or not but something's telling me that something's not right. I made the decision to leave the suite right away because if they're gonna start a fight, we should take it outside. Not inside a fucking expensive cottage that we'll be forced to pay the damages to."

"They seemed really...innocent to me." Goku said, his eyes following a Takoyaki stand he resisted so hard not to stop at.

"And drop dead gorgeous, too." Gojyo spoke again, the smirk still plastered on his face.

"Yeah, they are Gojyo but is that the only thing you'll be looking at?" Goku fired back.

"It's impossible not to see, those chicks were fucking pretty and hella thick. Curvy is the way to go! So much more to grab onto. And stop acting like you don't see it, you fucking monkey." The redhead said hotly, his brows furrowing.

"I'm a guy, it's fucking natural for me to see those but at least I don't lust over them." Goku said proudly, feeling confident that he wasn't like Gojyo.

"Now, now, stop it. This is getting heated." Hakkai smiled calmly as he tried to prevent a fight from the two.

Gojyo huffed, "yeah, right. I beg to differ." He teased Goku intentionally.

Goku dropped his hands and balled them into fists, "wha---what's that supposed to mean?!"

"A girl named Konoka told me things." Gojyo said, winking at Goku.

Sanzo and Hakkai turned to look at Goku, who looked a little shocked than expected. Sanzo held a small smirk while Hakkai smiled widely with eyes full of surprise.

"Ah, so you did leave the party a little earlier. With other plans in mind, might I add." Hakkai sounded as though he had finally put the clues together. "Don't you remember denying to me and Sanzo the rumors about you leaving with a girl who had short, blonde hair that night?" He still held a smile.

"Fuck this." Goku blushed furiously.

"Don't worry, monkey. We understand how you feel." Gojyo said walking over to Goku and messed up his hair.

"Cut it out." He slapped Gojyo's hand away.

"Could you believe this? Not only has he grown taller, but our monkey is finally a man!" Gojyo yelled followed by Hakkai's laughter.

"A decent man, unlike some slut I know." Goku teased back.

"What did you say?!" Gojyo backed away and stood as if he were about to tackle Goku. "You wanna fucking start, you little piece of shit?!"

"Bring it on, you slutty water sprite!" Goku grabbed Gojyo by his shirt's collar while Gojyo raised his arm for a punch.

"I haven't fired a bullet in a long time. You idiots wanna be my first targets?" Sanzo stopped and pointed his gun at the two.

"Aha, let's try to not draw attention to us, guys. Please refrain from fighting, Goku and Gojyo. Sanzo, you can now keep your gun." Hakkai calmly tamed the situation as usual. When the two parted from each other, the group kept walking, scanning the town for anything to do to let time pass. Thirty minutes later, Goku had convinced the other three for Takoyaki.

While they ate by the stand, they were planning for their next trip when Goku saw something that caught his attention.

Right across the stand was a small coffee shop. The glass windows were designed with swirls that were painted white and brown, behind it was a girl who was sitting alone, busy with whatever book she was reading. _"Whoa..."_ He thought she was really, really beautiful.

Goku stared at her as she continued to read while Gojyo and Hakkai laughed in the background, enjoying the Takoyaki he was also supposed to eat.

"...that was fucking retarded, man, I'm telling you! You remember that right, Goku?" Gojyo nudged his arm causing one piece of Takoyaki that rested on his plate to fall.

"Shit!" He exclaimed, a bit of sauce staining his pants. Luckily, he was wearing dark ones making the stain barely visible. Gojyo continued to talk while Goku tried wiping the stain off, bending down to brush the bit of brown liquid. He shot his head up when he heard a bell ring and looked back at the girl behind the glass window. She was gone.

He quickly realized the bell sounded from the shop's door. His eyes looked to see if she was still walking around the area but nothing like the girl behind the glass window came into view. He heaved a sigh.

"These came in just this morning! They're very fresh." Said an old man by the fruit stand a stall away from the Takoyaki stand they were eating at. He looked at him and saw that he was talking to the girl he was looking for. She stretched her arm out to hand the old man her payment for the fruit she bought and he handed her the bag of fruits itself. "Thank you!" Said the old man.

She stood still, tucking the change back in her pockets and Goku just stood there, looking at her.

She turned to where Goku was standing and without warning, she looked up directly at Goku. His breathing hitched in his throat. He felt that she was looking him in the eyes so he needed to look away, but he couldn't. It was a good three seconds until she turned and walked the other way around.

"Goku?" Hakkai asked.

He didn't turn to look at him but he continued to watch the girl walk until she was too far away to be seen.

"Hey, monkey, you hanging in there?" Gojyo asked this time. He still watched her walk the other direction.

"Goku." Sanzo's voice echoed in his ear. "Huh?" He asked, finally losing the girl in the crowd.

"The hell is wrong with you?" Gojyo questioned. "What are you looking at?" The other three looked at the direction Goku was facing but couldn't see anything worth staring at.

"Nothing, just the fruit stand." He said.

[*]

It was nearly time for the festival to start. Sanzo and the others never went back to the suite, instead they stayed in one of the town's most well known bars until it was time for the festival to start.

Not that Sanzo was excited to see the floating lanterns light up the night sky. _"I'd rather be stuck in the woods."_ He thought.

Goku and Hakkai grabbed the lanterns that an old lady was handing out. "This is so cool! I wonder what it's gonna look like when it all starts spreading out in the sky?"

"Probably like fireflies flying about." Sanzo said as he took the lantern Hakkai was handing him. He almost wanted to burn it with the cigarette he was holding.

Everyone in town was outside, scattered on the streets and almost everyone had a lantern or two in their hands. There was a great big fountain in the middle of the town which it circled to, Hakkai found out it was the town's foundation of strength. Why it was, he never knew.

They waited by a small fence that served as a circling border around the fountain.

"Oh look who's here." Gojyo smiled widely at the sight of Olivia, Scarlett and Gale right across them, seated by the fountain. "Scarlett!" He yelled.

The three of them looked for the voice that topped the noise around them. Olivia was the one who found the four men right across them. Scarlett waved back at Gojyo while both Gale and Olivia smiled widely.

Hakkai and Goku waved at them too, of course, Sanzo remained impassive and just looked away.

"Still think they're somewhat assassins, Sanzo?" Gojyo jerked his head to his priest companion.

"Hmph." Sanzo simply shrugged.

"I'm telling you, they're harmless." Gojyo says confidently.

"Haha, they do look so. But they are staying in the same cottage and it's not really a harm if we are careful. It's best we stay alert while we are staying with them." Hakkai said encouragingly.

"I hate to say it but I agree with Gojyo on this one. I really think those girls are innocent." Goku agreed, straightening his lantern up.

The other side suddenly erupted with what sounded like an applause, and when the Goku and the others turned to see what the commotion was all about, lights started to glow.

"It's starting!" Gale yelled with excitement, catching Hakkai's attention and he smiled at her excitement.

Sanzo took his lighter out and lit his lantern up, Gojyo teased him and said he was secretly excited to see the lanterns float. He threatened the water sprite saying if he was excited about anything, he was excited to kill him. He passed his lighter to Hakkai, who passed it to Goku, while Gojyo used his own.

Lights were suddenly floating in mid-air, higher and higher the lanterns went. Gojyo took another glance at Scarlett and he catches her taking pictures, their lanterns were already making it's way to the sky. He looked to his right and saw a woman with her child holding her own lantern. She gently tossed the lantern on air and there it went to glide along it, slowly soaring straight up with the other lights.

Gojyo did the same. "Whoa!" Goku exclaimed with pure amazement, and Hakkai and Sanzo raised their own lanterns, allowing it to flow through the air.

Goku turned to the other side and tossed his lantern as gently as he could. He watched it slowly move up to the sky, his eyes dancing in its light.

His lantern continued to flow upward and as it did, it passed by a view of a small window he assumed was from the third floor according to it's height. He took his gaze away from his floating lantern and fixed his eyes on the small window.

There was the girl who sat behind the glass window earlier today. She had her eyes on the view before her, the lanterns continued to dance in the sky. She looked down on the crowd below the lights and he diverted his gaze to them too. The locals gazed upon the sky while some of the tourists had their cameras up, capturing the captivating moment that occurred just right above them.

Not that he expected to but it was like he was waiting for her to look in his direction again, just like the unexpected moment he had with her earlier.

 _"I'm not even sure if it was me who she looked at earlier by the Takoyaki stand. It could have been anyone, it could have been anything."_ He wondered.

He looked back at her, she was now holding her own lantern. He watched her gently toss it to the sky and she watched it float away from her. She held a serious gaze towards her view, but she didn't know someone from below held the same gaze at her.

"That's the lantern festival. Let's head back to the suite." Sanzo grumbled from behind him.

"Should we invite the three girls? They are headed back there anyway." Hakkai questioned but before Sanzo could answer, Gojyo had already walked right up to Scarlett and her sisters.

"Do whatever the fuck you want, but if they kill you while you entertain them, I'm continuing this vacation and won't bother going to your funerals."

"Fair enough." Hakkai smiled charmingly.

"We're going?" Goku asked.

"Yeah, get your shit. I'm tired." Sanzo pushed himself from the wall he was leaning on to when Gojyo came back with Gale, Scarlett and Olivia.

"Shall we head back?" He asked cockily.

Sanzo started walking. "Please excuse him, he's just really tired." Hakkai faced the three girls.

"It's alright. We assume you are, you've been out almost the entire day." Gale answered.

"Come on, Goku." Hakkai motioned for him to follow and he nodded back.

Before he started walking, he took one last look at the window where the girl sat. Unfortunately, it was closed.


	3. Untold Relationship

**_Son Goku_ **

4:36 in the morning and my bladder decided to wake me up to piss. It was a good thing all rooms had a bathroom so I didn't have to go outside for it.

I closed the window since it was getting really chilly then I slumped back in bed. Hell, the winds blew hard tonight.

My eyelids were still heavy, I was just about to drift off to sleep when I heard a squeaky door slam shut. The sound made my hand twitch but I didn't bother checking who it was. I reached out to the table beside my bed and I looked at my phone, "shit!" I swear, this brightness will be the cause of me going blind one day.

I pulled the covers up and wrapped myself in it when I heard another door open then close right away. It sounded like the same door I heard just seconds ago because it sounded with a familiar squeak. I was too tired to get up to see who it was but I'm guessing it's probably one of the girls. If it were Hakkai, he would have taken a peek in my room like he always does. If it were Gojyo, he would have barged in to see if I was awake then throw something at my face. That was definitely not Sanzo, he doesn't come out of his room during these hours.

I shrugged it off, that was probably nothing.

[*]

I was awake but I hadn't left my bed. Instead, I was staring at the ceiling. I had a decent sleep but I don't know, my heart's been beating at an abnormal pace. I don't get why but it's beating really heavy and fast and I think I'm going paranoid because I think I'm starting to overthink things. Maybe this has something to do with whoever kept going in and out of his room last night?

My stomach is empty and it's starting to grumble. I would normally rush out to go get breakfast but it's the weight on my chest that's bothering me. I wonder what's going on? Maybe this is a side effect from something I ate last night? I should probably ask Hakkai, he would know.

I put my shirt back on before I walked out of my room. I come out to see Sanzo and Gojyo holding bags that looked full with laundry. Hakkai just came out of the kitchen holding a towel to dry his hands.

"'Bout time you woke the fuck up." Gojyo said, placing his lighter back in his pocket and I shot him a look.

"What time is it?" I asked. "You're going out for laundry?"

"It's 11:45 and yeah, we are. Hakkai found one while we were on our way back here from the festival last night." Gojyo said.

"Dang it," I didn't realize it was that late.

"I had just finished doing the dishes, Goku. I'll be going along with Gojyo and Sanzo and hand my laundry to the cleaners as well. Since I assume you'll be wanting to have lunch first, would you like me to hand yours in too?"

"Yeah, that'd be great, Hakkai! Thanks!" I exclaim and I run back to my room, trashing clothes in my laundry bag as fast as I could and handed it over to Hakkai. I ran towards the kitchen to grab some food right away when I noticed the girls were gone.

"Hey, where are Scarlett and her sisters?" I called out to them as I stepped out of the kitchen.

"They just left seconds before you came out your room. They said they needed to do a bit of grocery shopping since they were running out of their supplies." Hakkai answered, twisting the doorknob and pulling the door open.

"Hey, Goku," I looked right at Sanzo who called my name. "I put a few meat buns beside the microwave." Holy shit he left some for me?

"Really?! Thanks, Sanzo!"

A flash of white covered my eyesight, flapping sounds filled my ears and my head felt an intense pain. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" How did he even get to me so fast?! He was by the freaking door next to Gojyo and Hakkai!

"Those aren't for you. I'm saving those for me for later." He said, turning his back to me.

"You could have told me instead of whacking me with your fan!"

Gojyo snickers while I rub my head, "better that than his gun."

Aren't I getting a little too old for this whacking stuff? I won't be surprised if my head falls off my neck one day from all of it.

They left as soon as I sat on the couch in the living room with a full plate in my hand. I switched the tv on and looked for a good channel to watch.

I went back in the kitchen three times, the last one I took from there was a hotpot Hakkai saved for me. I sat down, texting him a thanks for the food he saved.

"Huh?" Something sounded from the room hallway. That's strange... I'm supposed to be the only one in here. The girls went out, Gojyo, Hakkai and Sanzo went for laundry... Shit. I summon my Nyoi Bo and ready myself for who else was in here. I just realized the heavy feeling in my chest had already disappeared, not until now that I'm feeling it again.

I'm betting whoever that is was the one who kept opening and closing the door earlier when I stood up to piss. Dang it, I heard the intruder last night but I didn't do anything about it. He was probably waiting for us to leave the suite so that he could do whatever the hell he's planning in here. Rob us maybe or some other things. Dammit, why is my chest feeling like this?!

I don't call him out and wait for him to come to the hallway as I held on to my Nyoi Bo tighter. Then I heard a door open, the same squeaking sound rings in my ear. There are four of us and three of the girls which meant one room was vacant, did that mean it's where the intruder hid during the past hours? Footsteps come next and he's making his way out here. I don't take my eyes off the corner that links the living room to the hallway and ---

"What---?" I froze. Is this why my chest was feeling so heavy?

The girl from the coffee shop is now standing right before my eyes...what is she doing here?!

She stares at me alarmingly, eyeing me and then my weapon since it was raised high. I was about to throw it in defense but good thing I stopped myself.

But why is she here?

I stare at her, she stares back and she looks as shocked as I am. I'm unable to take in what I'm seeing right now...how is this even possible?

When I heard that door open and close last night, I knew it was probably one of the girls but how the hell did it happen to be her? Who is she? Why is she here?

Why do I keep seeing her?

Another door swung open and I quickly turned to look at it. The guys were back.

I'm so confused. What is going on? Suddenly, everything I'm hearing are doors swinging open and doors slamming close.

Hakkai looked at my Nyoi Bo and I lowered it but even he looked confused to why I had it out.

"Goku is everything alright?" He asks and I stutter. Sanzo took a good look at the situation that made Hakkai curious yet he didn't even flinch when he saw the unknown girl right before me.

"Uhm..." I couldn't even say anything. I look at him then to the girl who I was just about to attack.

"Who are---" Gojyo was just about to ask the question I wanted to ask but couldn't open my mouth to when Scarlett popped out from behind them.

"Is everything okay around here?" She asks and I hide my Nyoi Bo before she could see it.

"Yeah, what's all the huddling about?" That was Olivia, her voice sounded confused and surprised just like the look on my face. The three girls squeezed their way in to see what had stopped Gojyo and the others. I looked back at the mysterious girl in front of me and she doesn't even say anything. She's just standing there.

"Hey! You're back." A great big, sweet smile forms on Gale's face.

"You know her?" I asked disbelievingly.

"Of course I know her. She's our youngest."

I blink at her. Maybe I'm not getting this clear, but when she said youngest, did she mean...?

"Youngest what?" I ask. She turns to me, giving me a questioning look that basically said "are you dumb? Was it not obvious?"

"Sister, of course."

...

...???...

I knew it the moment she referred to the girl as their youngest but...

SHE'S THEIR SISTER?

I want to scream in confusion and shock but I just stood there. How are they suddenly related? They never even said they had another sister. They never mentioned they weren't the only ones here with us. There are so many questions in my head but I couldn't open my mouth to ask.

Without any introductions or even a word to her sisters, the girl broke my confused thoughts away when she came into my view, walking straight pass me. She didn't even look in her sisters' direction but she just headed towards the door. Hakkai, Gojyo and Sanzo looked at her with the same surprised and confused face I had, and then stepped aside for her.

She just...went out without a word.

Is this why my chest felt so heavy? Because she was here the entire time and I didn't know? I remember seeing her last night in some old building's window when she tossed her floating lantern. She didn't even join her sisters who were having a great time just below her. Why was she never with her sisters? What is going on...

"Uhh yeah, don't mind her. She's just quiet and mysterious and all that." Olivia walks right in to the kitchen holding two bags from when they went shopping for supplies.

"Where do you think she's headed?" Gale questions her sisters. I can't move from my spot! I don't know why but I feel so...is shock even the right word? Damn.

"Probably out for lunch. I think she was the one I heard last night at around four or something." Scarlett says while the guys walk in and Gojyo closes the door.

Dammit, that was her.

"You never told us you had another sister?" Gojyo smirks.

"I guess it never bothered to us that we did, she's always like that. Isolating herself and what not." Gale beams at him.

"We know someone like that too, at least your sister was nice enough to just walk away...some people shoot bullets." He says, looking to Sanzo from his side.

"...shoot bullets?" Scarlett stops.

"Oh that was just a joke, don't take it too seriously." Hakkai comforts the three girls who looked shocked by Gojyo's words.

Sanzo had walked away and gave the middle finger to Gojyo as he leaned himself to the wall next to the window.

"Man, she scared me! I thought I was the only one left here so when I heard noises coming from the hallway, I jumped." I exhaled the air I didn't even know I was holding and sat back down the sofa with a slump.

"Oh, forgive her. She probably didn't know she wasn't alone either." Olivia said as she tried to reach the top cabinets, though, she was unable to. Sanzo saw her struggle and pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on to and opened the cabinet himself. "Oh, thank you." Olivia was surprised that he took the items from her hands and put them inside the cabinet. He didn't say anything when she thanked him again, he just went back to where he was earlier.

"Sorry we didn't tell you lads about her. Don't mind her when she's around because...I mean, nothing personal, but she'll probably just pretend she doesn't see you when she is." Scarlett says, sitting down two feet away from me.

"Oh, we don't mind. We're used to someone else giving us the same feeling." Hakkai says, Sanzo glaring at him from a distance.

"Is she...always like that?" I ask Scarlett. That girl is all in my head, she's intriguing me and I don't know why. Her face looked so calm to me even if it lacked emotion. If you ask me, she looked even more emotionless than Sanzo. But even so, she looked so calm and not boring at all. She was just...

"Oh no, she's just in one of those moods where she doesn't want to be around people. But she can be very loud and quirky. A good sense of humor might spark her mood a bit, a joke or something like that."

"We pretty much know someone like that...looks like Sanzo's met a match." Gojyo gushes from beside Scarlett.

"I don't have a sense of humor." He said, blowing a puff of smoke.

"That you don't but you sure are always in a mood where you don't want to be around people." Hakkai said with his signature smile, Gale, Olivia and Scarlett laughed.

I looked back at Scarlett and I opened my mouth to ask her what her sister's name was, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"Her name's Guin. It's short for Guinevere." She says.

Guinevere...

"I wonder what other things this town does for fun, eh?" Scarlett stretches her arms up, her question distracting me from my thoughts.

"Well, last night while we were out, I heard a man discussing to a few other people about some events they were most likely to hold as a succeeding celebration for the Lantern festival." Olivia says.

"Oh yes, I remember now." We all turn to Hakkai who had his hand to his chin, a gesture Gojyo, Sanzo and I grew to realize that he was either trying to remember something or putting clues on a situation together. "I overheard someone talking about a Matcha festival." He said.

"Really?!" Gale sounded excited.

"Yes. They celebrate Matcha this time every year along with the Lantern festival."

"What's Matcha?" I ask, not understanding what Gale is getting stoked about.

"It's like powdered Green tea. It's very famous, many chefs from all over the world have come up with their own use of it! Some make pastries, drinks... A lot, really." Gale explains with a wide smile on her face, nodding with every word she spoke. It would be stupid of me if I was still unable to tell what her favorite food was. "I can't believe there's gonna be a great big celebration of it here!"

[*]

It was a quarter to seven in the evening. The girls went out for that Matcha event thing while the rest of us stayed in. Hakkai and Gojyo arrived minutes ago after buying some groceries and supplies to make dinner for everyone, even for the girls, which Sanzo thought was ridiculous and a waste of money. _"I'm sure they can feed themselves, so why are you wasting your time and effort on them?"_ Sanzo snarked as he read the newspaper. _"It's really nothing, Sanzo. Besides, we're under the same roof as of the moment. Despite being a bit fishy, they haven't done us any harm."_ Hakkai said with a gentle smile on his face as he placed the grocery bags on the kitchen counter. _"Don't worry. If they ever decide to pull a trick, I'll make sure Hakkai cuts their stomachs open and he gets the food back."_ Gojyo joked, it was obvious he was the one who had this idea. Hakkai was only being nice to both him and the girls that's why he gave in. But behind the smile and the thoughtfulness, I knew he's doubtful towards the girls just as Sanzo is.

I was back to where I started this morning: lying in bed whilst staring at the ceiling. Tomorrow, we're going on a tour to visit the hills that surrounded this small town and to see the views at the top of it. I wonder if the girls would just be staying here?

I looked at the door to my room and I saw that it was open, thinking and asking myself if I had closed it earlier when I walked in. Across my room was another, the one with a door that squeaked every time it's either pushed open or pulled close. I wonder where she is? She stepped out of the suite without saying a word, even her sisters didn't know where she went. She's been gone for hours, her sisters went out an hour ago too, maybe they've met outside?

I got up and went to Sanzo's room out of boredom. I knocked twice before I twisted the doorknob and the first to greet me was the smoke from his cigarette. He looked up from the book he was reading and he didn't say anything when he saw me stepping in.

I grabbed the chair from the table, dragged it to the end of his bed and sat on it. "What do you want?" He asks icily, eyes returning to the pages of the book.

"Nothing. It's just so boring! I hope tomorrow comes faster, I can't wait to go hiking up those hills!" I exclaim.

"Yeah, well go bother the other two about your excitement." The blonde one spoke. Then there was silence.

"Sanzo?" I asked. Finally getting a bit of his attention, he looks up from the book. "Do you still think they're up to something?"

His eyes, once again, reverted its way back to its previous view, but he knew who my question was about. "I told you before, I don't know if they're innocent or not but I know for damn sure they're up to something. It's confusing but I know there's more to them than just being a bunch of girls traveling places, especially their sister, Goran."

I looked up at him and my eyebrows raised up too high, "you mean Guinevere?" I correct him.

"Yeah, her." He confirms, flipping onto the next page of the book he held in his hands.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, sitting straight.

"It's hard to explain. You did see the way she acted, right?" He said, putting his cigarette out.

I sighed and nodded, "yeah, she just stared at all of us and then walked right out like she didn't care about anything but you do that all the time..." I say, trying to stop a smile to show in my face so I don't trigger Sanzo's senses. "You just walk out on anyone who doesn't interest you, much less have anything to do with you."

He gives me a piercing look as I continue to fight off a smile from my lips and he sighs, "you won't get it. I just know."

I've noticed that Sanzo has been trying to light up. I don't know if Hakkai and Gojyo ever paid attention to it but I think he's trying to improve the way he deals with situations or people. He pretty much stayed with us last night when we walked back here to the suite with the girls even if the three of us knew he didn't like being in a company full of blabbing and laughing. He didn't interact with the girls, but it was definitely surprising to see he was actually staying in the circle. Even back in the temple, he would be gentle when he talked to the other monks, though this happened rarely. Sometimes, he even says 'please' whenever he asks something from them, which catches _everyone_ off guard. Though, he'd still threaten them whenever they got too annoying for him to deal with. The monks were too surprised by this that they spread it throughout Keiun. During one of my martial arts class, I told them to take a break when one monk went all, _"I literally heard him give this monk a thanks!"_ and I immediately knew they were talking about their high priest.

I smirked, getting him to furrow his eyebrows, "well maybe she just doesn't seem interested in hanging out? I mean you do that all the time, you just walk out. Maybe Gojyo's right! You've met a match."

He growls from his position. "Stop comparing me to her."

"I don't mean to. Maybe that's just the way she is, but that doesn't mean she's up to something." I sigh, why am I even so bothered by this?

"What is it about them that you keep on insisting to talk about them?" Sanzo asks, his voice in between being annoyed and being nice.

I don't know why but for some reason, my cheeks start to heat up so I look away. "I don't know. I just think they're nice."

"Well, it's good that you see the nice in others." He said with a voice now full of annoyance and sarcasm, his eyes going back to his book. "Now go bother Hakkai or roach head outside, if you hadn't noticed, I'm busy."

I huff, "what are you reading anyway?" I said, dipping my head low to get a good look on the book he was reading.

"Nothing, so beat it." He said. I sigh, no matter what changes I see in him, he's still the same Sanzo. I wonder if he'll ever stop hitting me with his fan?

"But the food's not cooked yet. I'm starving."

I asked the question in my head too soon. "Then go wait outside!" I didn't even see him stand up, was he really that quick to yell at me and hit me with his fan? I fell on the floor with a loud thud, my butt aching from its impact.

I rub my head. "Why can't you just tell me that?!" I guess I'm never gonna be old enough for him to stop hitting me.

"You're annoying me, I told you I was busy, didn't I? Leave before bullets come next." He said, getting back to his previous position.

I stood up and walked out his room. Man, my butt hurts.

"What did you do this time?" Hakkai asks when I reached the living room.

"I didn't do anything!" I exclaimed, my hands in the air.

"What's new? It's Sanzo's room he came from, there was bound to be a whacking sound to echo out of it." Gojyo says, flipping more channels on the tv.

"Are you done cooking, Hakkai?" I ask, plopping next to roach head.

"Not yet." He wiped his hands on his apron. "I'm making beef broccoli and Sukiyaki. It's taking me quite a while this time since there will be eight of us. I'm still not used to the number, it's always been the four of us I've catered to."

"'Catered to'? Geez, Hakkai, you're sounding like we slave you around with the cooking and stuff." Gojyo muttered from beside me.

"I never meant it that way, Gojyo." Hakkai teased with a smirk etched on his face. "I may do a lot of the work but you have to give yourself some credit for doing a bit of the cleaning sometimes. Oh, and Goku too."

"Yeah, exactly. It's the prince of the showering bullets that never does anything at all." Gojyo groans from beside me and I nod my head. "All he does is open windows to let the smoke out and sometimes, it isn't even helpful. He opens a window and in comes 42,000 flying insects sucking blood out of my body."

I let out a loud laugh, remembering a very special day for Hakkai that once happened to us when we were on our journey to India. "Yeah, even during that time Hakkai left, he didn't bother helping us out when Gojyo and I decided to do some cleaning."

"Damn, I hate remembering that day! It's been years but I can still remember the shameful feeling of working in a restaurant because we couldn't pay for everything we ate!" Gojyo turned to me with an annoyed expression spreading across his face while Hakkai, who was back in the kitchen, bursted into laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh your way through the memories, you little shit. I still haven't forgiven you for making us go through that." The pervert shrugs from beside me.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Gojyo. But that's what happens when you break promises." Hakkai says. "You know I hate it when that happens."

"But yeah, I remember good 'ol Genjo didn't help one bit! While Goku was washing dishes and I was out waiting tables, taking orders," Gojyo pauses then glares at Hakkai, who was really out of sight since he was separated from us by a wall, "not to mention, slaving for some cocky old bastard who ordered every expensive food on the damn menu, he was sitting with his fucking legs crossed while he smoked the shit out of his lungs!"

While Gojyo still had his feelings hurt over a karma that happened to us years ago, I was laughing hysterically beside him, remembering every bit of that day. "Do you remember covering your face with a table napkin so Hakkai wouldn't recognize you?"

Hakkai poked his head from the kitchen with the brightest smile I've seen his face display, "and remember when you fell down and your hat came off which ended up exposing yourself to me?"

Gojyo glared at the both of us; Hakkai laughed from the kitchen while I laughed from beside him. "I remember ordering two bottles of Sake and Sanzo ordered two more of their finest ones while Monkey over here just chowed on everything he ordered and still asked for more of everything on the menu. Fuck," he pressed the bridge of his nose in annoyance, "I was even cocky enough to tell the owner to hand us our bill whenever they got the chance because I was damn confident we had the card to pay for all the shit we ordered, what the fuck, that was embarrassing!" He exclaimed, it was obvious he hasn't moved on from that humiliating feeling. Hakkai never even showed us that he felt sorry for what he did. In fact, he was proud of it up until now.

Even though I was laughing at Gojyo too, Hakkai laughed louder than we had ever heard him do. Though, I've moved on and accepted we've fucked up on our promise to Hakkai, he was clearly enjoying Gojyo reminisce in utter annoyance and pain. Not an ounce of guilt could be detected from him.

Redhead leaned to me and whispered, "how evil do you think Hakkai could get when he's mad?"

"I don't know but after going through that day, I don't think I ever wanna know how far Hakkai could take things when he's mad." I said, calming myself down from all that laughing Gojyo caused.

He and I spent the next 20 minutes watching some foreign comedy show that played different funny home videos while Hakkai continued with his cooking.

After another five minutes dragged on, we heard voices talking, making its way to the door. It opened to reveal Olivia and her sisters, my eyes darted for another girl but she wasn't with them.

"Ah, you're just in time! I've just finished making dinner for all of us." Hakkai made his way to greet them before Gojyo and I could say something.

"Really? You made some for us too?" Gale asks looking him directly in the eye.

"This is so lovely, Hakkai! You truly are a gentleman." Scarlett chimes next to Gale.

I still can't get used to the way they talked and to how they sounded with their accents...

"Oh, it was nothing, really. I figured every one of us would want a nice dinner."

"Really, this is very sweet of you, lads. Actually, the reason why we came back early was because we wanted to ask you guys if you wanted to have dinner by the lakeside." Olivia says, a smile growing on her face and she eyes all three of us. "Maybe we can, tomorrow? The food you made smells delightful, Hakkai!"

"Oh, of course, it'd be our pleasure. And thank you." Hakkai beams at the girls again.

I turned to look at Olivia and gazed at her, "hey, Liv," I asked.

"Hmm?" She turns to me.

"Shall we eat?" Hakkai offers first and motions everyone else to the dining area where he had fixed the table. I turned to look at it and..."whoa" I mutter to myself. The table looked fancy. When did Hakkai learn how to do that? All we were going eating were rice, Beef Broccoli and Sukiyaki...the table setting looked like those you see in fancy restaurants.

"I'll go get blondie." Gojyo said, sighing as he walked straight to Sanzo's room. "That guy always needs to get dragged to the table." He mumbled away.

We were all sat in the table now when Olivia had just remembered I was gonna ask a question.

"Goku, did you want to ask me something?"

"Oh, yeah, right. Where did you want to eat if Hakkai didn't make dinner?" I said. Nobody started digging for food unless everyone was seated. Gojyo was still in Sanzo's room and we could hear them bickering all the way here.

"...I am not going to get you food! Get your ass over the table, you inconsiderate, anti-social mo---"

"Say something more and I will shoot---"

"Don't make me drag your ass ther---" there was a shuffling noise followed by a very loud thud. The girls couldn't help but listen to what was going on, it was very loud. I looked over to Hakkai and he was quick enough to say something for them to not focus on the ruckus the other two were making.

"Ah, don't listen to them. Weren't you going to answer Goku's question, Olivia?" He turned to Liv with a bright but _different_ smile; a smile Gojyo has taught me that underneath it, was either a very pissed or very embarrassed Hakkai.

"Oh, yes, right. They call the restaurant "By The Lake" since it was located literally by the lake. It offers a wide selection of food. Plus, the view of the lake---" Liv continued to talk as Gojyo and Sanzo appeared from the hallway, both of them taking seats. Gojyo had a fake smile on and of course, Sanzo had his impassive face on mode, "---offers a variety of cuisines. Lovely for dinner, really."

"That sounds great! Maybe we should go tomorrow!" I exclaimed, grabbing the empty bowl and a pair of chopsticks.

"We should, it does sound amazing." Hakkai said.

"What did I miss?" Gojyo asked, a cunning smile forming on his face as he turned to look at Scarlett. This fucking flirt, I swear.

"Oh, we were supposed to invite you for dinner at this very wonderful restaurant. But seeing as you've all made dinner, we've decided against it and maybe we should go tomorrow." She told him.

"There's a lot going on around this town, I'm planning to go see that little shop that sells different trinkets from all over Shangri-La again. I've spotted one I think mum would like." Olivia says.

Scarlett and Olivia talked while I was grabbing more Sukiyaki when I noticed Gale was having trouble with the chopsticks. She probably didn't eat food like these, maybe they only got to eat food like these when they got here in Shangri-La?

"Like this, Gale." I said, demonstrating the use of chopsticks with my right hand.

"Yeah, I've got that, but how do you get the food to hang in there? I mean, in between the sticks..." She giggles lightly, she was holding it right but she couldn't pick any of her food up. "Ahh, maybe I should use a spoon and fork." She said, making a move to stand until Hakkai stood first.

"No, don't worry. You stay seated, I'll go get you a pair." He slides his chair backward gently and he walks towards the drawers. I checked that out earlier today, every drawer had everything sorted neatly. One drawer had different kinds of spoons, the other forks, the other knives, and so on and so forth.

Just like last night, we continued talking with the girls. This time, we talked about the places we'd all like to go to; Hakkai still went on about wanting to hit a beach if we had a chance. Gojyo wanted to go to Las Vegas, nothing new there. We asked Sanzo of a place he wanted to visit, he didn't even bother putting the newspaper down a bit to look at us when he said "anywhere I can rest". I wanted to go to a mountainous area and live in a cabin for a week but Gojyo said I wouldn't survive if there weren't restaurants around the place.

The girls went on about the places they wanted to see. They mentioned a bunch of foreign places that I've never even heard about, some places made me curious and a few sounded boring. Some time through the conversation, Sanzo stood up, muttered the words "I'm going to sleep" and headed for his room.

By 11:45 in the evening, we were still at the table while Hakkai was washing the dishes. Scarlett went on about their journeys before they got here in Shangri-La, and although we enjoyed their company, we pretended we didn't have much to tell about our experiences so we just let them do all the talking.

Earlier today, Hakkai told us it wasn't wrong to communicate with the girls, but it wasn't right for us to be fully open and comfortable around them. He advised us not to tell anything about us; he meant our Journey to India and what we do in the present day. He said it was bad enough they knew our name. He also mentioned that we will most likely move to a different hotel or inn if he finds a vacant one but if not, we may have to leave this town. In addition to that, letting them know we worked at a temple might just give away information that we used to travel with a priest for a mission. Gojyo huffed and disagreed completely, saying it was wrong of him and Sanzo to just judge the girls for being somewhat assassins, or whatever they thought, when all the proof they have is the time they caught them exchanging glances over what Scarlett almost spilled. _"That doesn't prove anything!"_ Gojyo said.

Though I agree with Gojyo, I couldn't deny the fact that when it comes to intuition, Sanzo and Hakkai are right 90% of the time, especially Sanzo. We went on a journey together for a long, long time and I've witnessed them rely on what their minds are telling them for so many times and I barely remember an instance they found themselves wrong. And maybe Gojyo thought about it too? Knowing he can be very arrogant when it comes to proving points, he would have started talking about one certain thing that happened to us while we were trying to stop the youkai, but he never spoke about it at all. Maybe he kinda believed the other two about the girls... Maybe? I don't know.

We listened to the girls intently, but they must have gotten tired of the talking. They bid us their good nights and we decided to hit the sack too. We needed to get up early anyway, the tour we booked was at 7am and it was almost 1 o'clock in the morning.

I washed my face, then I climbed into my bed. I rolled onto one side and looked at the window, I gazed at the night sky and thought about what lies ahead of us.

What could the girls be hiding? Now that I think about it, did the Three Aspects and the Merciful Goddess allow this vacation to happen because we needed to find out? If so, does that mean this is another mission?

What if they allowed us to have this leave because something big was coming our way? What if they allowed us to leave the temple because we were supposed to find something along a path we didn't even know we were taking? What if this isn't really a vacation, what if it's really a preparation for something new?

The night before we left Chang'an, I was so excited that I told myself to be ready to see the world. What if...what if what we're about to see happens to be more than just the places, people and culture? What if we're about to see the world as how it really is? If that's so, are we discovering this for ourselves or for something else?

Agh, I hate it when there's something I don't understand. I tend to overthink a lot and end up asking myself a shit ton of questions I don't have answers to, not even a clever guess. I don't even know why I'm suddenly thinking of the future, we haven't even proven anything right now in the present.

And in this present time, it's 'in-the-middle-of-the-night', so I'm going to bed.

[*] [*]

Sanzo stood up from his bed and grumbled as he let his feet touch the floor. He looked at his watch and sighed irritatingly when he read the time; 3:42am. He's been awake for more than 25 minutes now and the reason was because he needed to use the restroom. But when he tucked himself back in, he felt something crash over his system...

His stomach growled so loud that he thought he woke everyone in the hotel up.

"Goddammit." He whispered to himself. Remembering he had saved some meat buns yesterday morning, he softly got up and headed straight for the door.

He found his food where it was when he left it and reheated it in the microwave. He opened the window, stood next to it and looked up at the stars as he munched on the meat buns. He didn't bother opening the lights in the kitchen since the one in the living room was on. He had the moon to illuminate the rest of the space, anyway. It wasn't completely dark in the kitchen, but it was dimly lit. He took his time eating, his eyes still felt a little heavy and he was quick enough to finish without falling asleep as he ate. Of course, it wasn't a complete meal until he took a drag, so he grabbed one off of Gojyo's pack that he saw resting on top of the table and lit it up also with his companion's lighter.

In a few hours he'd have to get up and get ready for that tour Hakkai and Goku booked for later, _"last time I checked, I hated hiking on hills or mountains. Why the fuck did I let those idiots drag me in this?"_ , he thought to himself. But then he thought it was better than being left behind knowing there are four suspicious females who stayed under the same roof. _"I really don't wanna spend this leave killing four women...unless I have to."_

These thoughts irritated him that he didn't even bother finishing the cigarette. He put it out and grabbed the plate he used and placed it in the sink, not even bothering to wash it because he knows Hakkai will be on it before they leave anyway. One last thing to do, he headed for the refrigerator and grabbed a pitcher of water and poured himself a glass. He consumed it in seconds and went back to the sink to add more to Hakkai's dishwashing duties.

As he placed the glass next to the plate he used not too long ago, he noticed something by the edge of the sink. There was a wet piece of clothing that had stains on it, but thinking it was probably what the others used to wipe the table off, he didn't touch it. He was just about to leave when his eyes spotted something else; the faucet's handle was stained as well. He knew very well that Hakkai would notice the stain and if he did, he wanted to know why his companion didn't clean it.

He stretched his hand out to touch the handle and to his surprise, the stain was still wet, which only meant that this was freshly marked. He brought his stained hand up to his face and looked at it carefully to see what it was. He couldn't identify it, it was too dark to tell if it was sauce or something else. He thought of switching the lights on to get a better look, but someone had just turned it on for him.

He looked behind him to see who switched the lights on. He expected to see either Gojyo or Hakkai because he heard them tell instances of waking up in the middle of the night to either use the restroom or to grab something to eat.

He least expected Guinevere to appear by the hall.

He looked at her as she looked back, her emotionless face annoyed him. Somehow, Gojyo's voice rang in his head and he can hear him say "the battle of the bored faces begins, may the best poker face win".

She took quiet and slow steps towards the fridge. He took another drag out of Gojyo's pack from his pockets while she poured herself a glass of water. He leaned himself by the sink counter as he pretended to mind his own business, but he was really observing her. As she drank her water, from their distance he saw her face had a bit of dirt. Her hair was down but it was disheveled. Her clothes were messy and wrinkly all over, the ends of her pants looked drenched and he spotted a small bit of a torn spot on the shirt she wore. And although her face lacked emotion, which was probably normal for her, she looked worn out.

 _"She was out doing something."_ He thought.

After she finished drinking, she headed to the counter and stood two feet away from him, placing her glass in the sink.

Sanzo blew a puff of smoke and he didn't dare to move or look at her. Instead, as she opened the faucet to wash the remaining unclean dishes, he spoke to her with a cold voice and he directed his eyes to the empty living room. "What happened to you?" His tone was apathetic because he didn't care nor was he worried for her situation at all. He only asked because he was somehow mocking her. He knew his suspicions about her were right; she was up to something.

"I got lost in a cave." She said, her voice sounded hoarse. Like him, she didn't bother looking to him when she answered his question. He had never heard her speak so he couldn't tell if her voice was naturally hoarse, as some people have, or not. But he could tell that her tone was equally as mocking as his.

He finished the stick he was smoking when he opened his mouth again, "yeah right", and he dropped the remains of the stick into the sink where she was washing the dishes. He pushed himself off the counter and walked back to his room. He heard her close the faucet before he closed his door.

He stood behind his door for a while. A tiny part of him wanted to take his fan and beat the hell out of Goku and Gojyo for doubting his intuition. He didn't have a clue what that girl was up to and he didn't intend to find out. But he knew he wouldn't hesitate to fire a bullet straight to her head if she decided to make a move against him and he didn't care if her sisters watched him do it.

He raked his hand through his hair when the moon illuminated the stain on his hand. Thankfully, it was dry so he was sure he didn't get any on his hair. But he still hadn't figured out what it was so he reached for the light switch.

The stain was dark on his hand and he was sure it was blood. Although he wasn't sure if it was Guinevere's or someone else's, it was clear to him that she was the reason behind it.


	4. A Never Expected Reunion

"Should we leave a note?" Gale asks, grabbing her rucksack and slipping her feet into her flat shoes. Scarlett popped out of the hallway where the rooms were right after she made sure she didn't leave anything behind.

"I guess we should. We are leaving without saying goodbye when they've been quite good company to us for two days." Olivia reaches for the drawer next to the long sofa, remembering the hotel had complementary pens, notepads and pencils in each room. She scribbled down the words, not bothering to check if her handwriting was pleasing; her heart felt like it was beating 1000 pulses every 30 seconds.

In a rush, they needed to break away from the town and despite the many protests, especially from Gale, they had no choice. After all, this was _no vacation_ for the four sisters.

"Did she mention where we are headed next?" Gale asks again.

"She hasn't said a word, you know. All I've heard from her since this morning was _'get up, get dressed, we're leaving'_ and let me emphasize how her eyes widened at me when she commanded me to start moving my ass off that very moment. Aren't I supposed to be the eldest sister and she, the youngest?" Olivia stated, rolling her eyes at her sister who was still inside her room doing god-knows-what. "I mean, she barges up to all our rooms, commanding us to be ready as fast as we can but she's still inside hers."

While her older sister spoke infuriately over her lack of authority towards their youngest, Scarlett knew the other two felt somewhat anxious about their sudden departure just as she's been. All three of them tried to hide it, but they also knew they shared the same feeling and none of them dared to find out why. "I hope this time we get to go somewhere more interesting." She said as cheerfully as she could, hoping she would diffuse the tension a bit.

"I wonder what's going on..." Gale whispered.

"You know she'd never tell." Olivia slumped on the sofa. "She never lets any of us know. What's the use of going with her, honestly?"

"Oh, would you shut it, Liv? If she doesn't want to tell, then we won't force her and we must respect that." Scarlett snapped at her older sister.

Her face twisted in irritation, mentally asking if her sisters kept forgetting she was the eldest among all of them. Gale usually backed her up whenever any of the other two sassed her out but this time, she sighed and embraced a truth. "Liv, you know you don't have the right to complain, don't you? She never asked us to come with her nor did anyone ever tell us to watch over her. We came along because we wanted to---"

"---protect her. We all agreed on that, didn't we?" Olivia spoke from her seat, making a face that mixed worry and anger together. "We were all aware she was going to be gone for a long time and she wasn't sent out to accomplish something as easy as making pie. Therefore, as her sisters, it was natural for us to want to come and help her, to _protect_ her. But how can we if she won't tell us what she's doing? Another point in joining her little trip was to help make things easier for her. But she won't let any of us be around her, let alone find out about anything she's doing behind her bloody door and outside these walls."

"Then if that's the case, shouldn't we just let her be? You're right, we came along to help make things easy for her but I know she's capable enough to do all her shit on her own. If she needed us, she would have asked. If the time comes, I'll be ready to help out so unless she asks for a hand, I will remain seated outside her circle." Scarlett said satisfactorily.

"Yeah. I know we all came here to keep an eye out for her but honestly, she doesn't need it. It's natural for us to want to be there for her, we're a family, but we have to let her do as she pleases. We were never needed here in the first place." Gale added.

Olivia sighed, somewhere in her mind she admitted to Scarlett and Gale being right.

There was a full moment of silence and eyes staring from wall to wall. They waited for their sister to finish up, Olivia placed the note she wrote for Hakkai and the others to see on the small desk. Less than five minutes later, Guinevere stepped out her room carrying her rucksack, wearing also her current favorite face: straight and emotionless.

With her entrance to the living room, her sisters stood up and grabbed everything they needed to bring with them. "Got everything?" Gale asked and she nodded, heading straight for the door and reaching for the knob.

Scarlett gave a soft chuckle, amused by how they have to leave their suitemates so abruptly. "I hope the lads don't think too badly of us for leaving. I'm sure there are vacant regular rooms now, eh? They could simply ask to change for rooms if the price would be too grave...not that I think they can't pay for it."

"I'm thinking about the generosity they've shown towards dinner last night; I wanted to suggest treating them to that restaurant we found since they've cooked for us. What an _'eat-and-run'_ situation this is." Olivia sighed.

"Come on." Guinevere turned and started walking outside the suite, her sisters following her.

"Unlucky that the plan's changed." Scarlett whispered, closing the door behind her.

[*] [*]

"You're sure you haven't eaten it, Goku?" Hakkai questions the boy with bright, golden eyes and whose face twisted in a very irritated expression.

"I stashed it away under this bowl and hid it in the top cabinet! I swear, I haven't eaten it. I was saving that for this morning!" Goku still looked under the bowl as if he were expecting his food to just magically reappear.

After hearing this, Hakkai started thinking where Goku would have possibly left his food other than the top cabinet. But last night at 11pm, he came out his room to use the restroom when he stumbled upon a red-haired man drinking a glass of water in the kitchen. They had a small talk and he remembered Gojyo closing the very door to the cabinet Goku hid his food in just before they went back to their rooms. "I think I might know where your food is..." he said, smiling his way to the upcoming roar of insults that will most probably be coming out of Goku's mouth.

"Really?! Where? Come on, tell me!" Goku, who sometimes still acted very childlike towards a topic of food, pleaded Hakkai to spill what he knew.

"Well, even if I did tell you, you're never gonna get it back. I'm sorry, Goku, but those sesame balls are as good as gone." He said, a smile still curved on his face.

"What? What do you mean? You said you knew?" He asked, confusion engulfing his features.

"Yes, well, I'm pretty sure it's not 'there' anymore..." Hakkai grabbed the rag he originally used to wipe the table clean and began washing it.

Goku's hands suddenly balled into fists. Hakkai's knowing smile sent him information that someone had actually went through the cabinet and had most likely spotted his food. And then he realized... Who else was there to blame? "That fucking water sprite ate it, didn't he?"

"You know, monkeys usually pick clues up fast because they're really smart, I wonder what happened to you?" Gojyo said, appearing from the living room with a mocking facial expression that both he and Hakkai knew would piss Goku real bad.

Sanzo had just passed from behind Gojyo and headed to the bathroom. He looked like he didn't wake up in a good mood (which has probably become more of a routine) so Goku decided to hold his tongue back and not argue with Gojyo. None of them really wanted to have bullets or hammering paper fans for breakfast. "You owe me, you motherf---"

"Language, Goku." Hakkai halted him while he squeezed all the excess water out from the rag he just rinsed.

"Owe you? Wasn't that a treat?" Gojyo said and it made Goku's nostrils flare.

The rest of the morning was spent rather spontaneously. Not only did Hakkai and Goku go out buying food and supplies, but they also ended up shopping for new clothes. They thought that their vacation might last a little longer than expected so it was essential. Gojyo and Sanzo were left behind at the hotel. Minutes of complete boredom passed, both had decided to leave. Separately, of course.

Gojyo headed out to find a decent bar while Sanzo left to find a bookstore. Usually, he would find a small (and hopefully deserted) cafe for him to read a newspaper or a book he would find in the hotel they're staying in. He never really liked going out, even before, but this time was different.

He found a small one and entered the neatly decorated shop. Immediately, he headed to the 'religious' aisle and browsed covers that would spark his interest. Sanzo had been feeding his knowledge about different religions from all over the world. Previously, he had finished a book about Christianity.

He scanned for five minutes and moved over to the next aisle which was labelled 'foreign'. To his dismay, nothing seemed interesting and to his disgust, every book cover looked like topics about love.

"Well... it's a small shop so I guess it wouldn't hurt to browse for a bit." Said a charismatic female voice.

His head didn't snap up to see who it was but somehow, the voice sounded familiar. He shrugged it off.

"Nah, this looks like it has limited selections. You'd be lucky to find anything foreign in here." Now that voice sounded extremely familiar. He's heard that voice countless of times, mostly during battles. And most especially, during the war he's most famously victorious in. It was impossible to forget that voice even after all these years.

"Kou, look! There's a foreign aisle over there!" The female voice said.

"Lucky you." The male voice said sounding bored as hell.

Footsteps drew nearer to Sanzo and he walked to the opposite side, avoiding to be seen. He bowed his head and slid to the other aisle, then to the other, and to the other until he was only 10 steps away from the door. He paced to it as quickly and quietly as he can, he reached for the door and dashed outside, trying not to seem questionable.

Walking around the rest of the town, he bumped into Hakkai who was holding bags of variety. "Where's Goku?"

"We parted ways minutes ago. I'm headed back to the hotel but he said he'll follow after he's checked something out." Hakkai said, he and Sanzo started to walk back to their hotel. "Another restaurant, I suppose."

Sanzo nodded. His eyes swam in the crowd, on the look out for anyone he hopes he never sees and Hakkai notices this. "Everything alright?"

"I was at the bookstore earlier. Fuck me if I was wrong but I think Kougaiji and his chemistry girl was there too." Sanzo dropped the bomb that was ticking from his mouth.

Hakkai looked at him like the bomb landed on his bare hands. "Kougaiji?"

"...and his chemist. Or nurse, whatever." Sanzo added, making sure his companion didn't miss out on this one.

"You're sure you're not mistaken?"

"I was hoping I was. Not until she called him by his name." Sanzo said, taking a drag out of his pocket and lighting it up. "Doesn't she usually call him master or lord or something like that?"

"From what I recall, she has always called him lord. Are you saying you heard her call him just by his name?"

"Yeah. Maybe you lose the title when you lose a war." Sanzo added and Hakkai was unable to tell if he was being sarcastic or simply curious. He was probably both.

"Well," Hakkai said with a charming smile plastered across his face, "this is quite surprising. I don't mean to sound rude but I thought they would have been dead. I recall the castle collapsing on top of everyone else."

"Exactly." Sanzo blew out a puff of smoke. "Those bastards just wont die."

"Well, they weren't our mission anyway." Hakkai confirmed, Sanzo shrugged again.

"They were still in the way of it."

Meanwhile, Goku had to stop complaining about how ragged his shoes were getting because of his endless use to it so he opted to buy a pair. He was on his way back to the hotel when he passed by a coffee shop. He slowed his pace down and inhaled the aroma of beans and reminisced what his last memory of a coffee shop was:

The time he first laid eyes on a girl behind the glass window.

He wondered where she was now. Although he was sure he'd never see her again, he also knew he'd have a hard time forgetting her face. He was mesmerized by her and he didn't even know why. It's been a week since she and her sisters left a note for leaving so sudden, Goku and the others left the day after that.

The note never said why they had to leave and where they were headed off to. None of them exchanged any means of communication either so they never got to find out.

Goku then picked up his pace. He was passing by many shops and restaurants and he abruptly stopped, remembering to buy some sesame balls again since Gojyo stole the one he bought yesterday. The lady at the cashier said they'd call his name when his order was ready. The wait wasn't long, a girl with wavy, black hair called his number out. "Order number 72, customer name: Son Goku." He got up from his seat and made his way to the counter. "Here you go." Her voice sounded sweeter when she had seen him push through the crowd. He smiled politely at her when she handed him a small, brown paper bag. As he reached for it, the girl leaned forward to him, almost inches away from his face and whispered the words "come again soon". She winked at him and he gave her the same polite smile he first showed, followed by a mutter of the word 'thanks'. He turned away instantly, not wanting to create any other interaction.

He felt exhausted with all the walking he and Hakkai did before separating. As he stopped just right outside the restaurant, he breathed in the aroma coming from the brown paper bag and smiled brightly. "Aww man, these smell so good! Even better than the one I bought yesterday! Gojyo better not take a piece from this---"

"Order Number 79, customer name: Lirin!"

He stood shaken by what he had just heard. _'Lirin?'_ He repeated the name to himself. It was weird, it was nearly impossible to hear that name being spoken.

He knew one person with the very same name.

Sudden flashbacks of Houtou castle came rushing through his head. He remembered its walls crumbling down and everyone inside the palace were crushed to their deaths. He was sure of this. Maybe she was a different Lirin? _'Isn't it a common name?'_ He tried to reason with himself even if he knew it was most likely to be untrue.

Goku was again distracted by the pleasant smell coming from the brown paper bag and with that, he turned and walked back to their hotel.

He pushed the door open and the first thing he hears is Gojyo talking from the kitchen.

"That's impossible. Even if they did survive, they would have died later on. What, with all the injuries and the amount of blood they lost! And considering everyone else was dead, who would have healed them? That couldn't have been them." He spoke with confidence.

"If they had survived, what would they be doing here? Shouldn't they be slaving for their lives, trying to make up for their defeat?" He heard Sanzo spoke, his tone evident with so much pride. Goku made his way to the kitchen where the other three were, all eyes on him as he passed by the door.

"Not you guys too!" He exclaimed.

"Something the matter, Goku?" Hakkai asks him.

"This restaurant I've been to calls out takeouts by name. A few after mine were called and one of them was made for someone named Lirin."

"Well shit." Gojyo grumbled, sinking a bit lower to his seat.

Sanzo, who still remained impassive towards this issue, scoffed at Gojyo after puffing out another cloud of smoke. "What are you so nervous about?" He asked, his head tilted proudly.

"I'm not nervous! I'm just thinking what'd they be up to in a town like this." Gojyo explained a bit defensively as he glares at Sanzo like he wanted to rip his head off his body...which he sort of did. "You got some nerve calling me that, didn't you yourself just tell that you moved as quick as you can out of that store? You must have been shitting yourself back there." He spat, a feeling of annoyance radiated out his body.

"What do I gotta be nervous about?" Sanzo says, Hakkai could feel so much arrogance in the air with the way both Sanzo and Gojyo talked. "Were you expecting me to ask him how they were doing after we kicked their sorry asses down to their defeat?" And it was Goku who sensed the sarcasm from every word. "I wouldn't wanna look at them and laugh out of nowhere."

Goku interrupted before things got heated, "I just think it'd be weird to actually bump into them. I won't degrade them and wonder what they could be doing with their lives today but I just think its weird running into them after all that happened."

"I agree with Goku. It would indeed feel a bit awkward if we met face to face. Do you think they'd start a fight if it happens?" Hakkai asks cheekily.

"I don't know. But it's not like I'm gonna back out if they do shit for revenge." Gojyo sits straight, a cocky grin smearing out the annoyance he felt just a moment ago. The thought of battling Kougaiji and his group thrilled him since he considered it would be like working out. "We haven't been in a fight in such a long time."

"Man, saying that only made me realize how out of shape I am." Goku sighed, suddenly aware of his body's condition.

"What about you, Sanzo?" Hakkai gestured to him. "Would you fight if they started one? Or will you have us clean it up just like the good old days?"

The priest smirked. He wasn't gonna lie, there were many times in the past he would rather sit in a corner as his three companions took care of a raging fight, but he would not miss out on Kougaiji if they do come for them. "Why'd you think my gun is always loaded with bullets?" He asks, his tone dripping with venom.

"Well, I'm glad to know that everyone is ready."

The four of them were 70% sure that it was Kougaiji and his companions who they encountered earlier today. And although they aspired a vacation without anything getting in the way, they prepared for the worst when they left Chang'an. Sanzo wasn't lying when he said his gun was never empty, Gojyo and Goku were always ready to throw kicks and punches just in case anything around them pounced from its position, and Hakkai, with his usual calm demeanor, was always on the look out for anything that seemed out of the normal.

The only thing that stirred them up was the thought that Kougaiji might have been spending his time looking for them to avenge his race. But they weren't threatened. Why would they even be? They won many battles and a war against them, they were sure they could do it again.

This issue subsided when Goku had mentioned Chang'an. Sanzo wondered again if he would want to resume his post as a priest but it's not like he'd have a choice; he needed to find a successor.

Gojyo thought about how the temple was doing without them even if he knew the monks were fine. While the conversation carried on, he remembered the girl at the bar he talked to earlier today. She gave him her number and he gladly saved it, of course if he texted her, there was only one possible outcome.

He lived his life going wild with the money he gambled on and the girls he took to bed; these were what made him feel alive and he may have even felt appreciated. Sex was something that guaranteed him a person had desired his presence. And even though it meant nothing but physical attention and temporary pleasure, there was a tiny part of him that made him glad he was somehow wanted.

He never pictured himself being loved by anyone since his mother alone was enough to make him feel how the world hated beings like him. Ever since he was young, the rest of the world had brought life to the image his mother gave him. Half-breeds were never treated fairly. He got tired of it, he wanted to change it, but if he was honest with himself, _what could he have done?_ Was there anything he could do or say to let everyone else realize that even if he was a mixture of human and youkai, he was still born and given a privilege to walk this earth and live a life just like everyone else?

No, there was _nothing_. He knew he couldn't have done anything so he just lived. He knew he was given a right to live and so he did it, he lived the way he wanted to and because it was his life, nobody had any right to tell him to stop. Even if he knew he was wasting his life bathing in alcohol and jumping from one woman to another, he didn't give a damn about what anybody would think. After all, at the end of the day, he would still be judged and hated for being born with mixed blood.

But after all those years of spoiling himself with money and girls, Gojyo's been through a bit of change as well. He didn't involve himself in sexual matters as much as he used to. As he watched the other three interact, he cleared his mind and decided not to call the girl. _"I'd rather watch their moronic faces to entertain myself than fuck right now."_

He would always have his companions' jaws drop (except for Sanzo since he's almost always 100% impassive) whenever he turns down a chance to sleep with a girl. Hakkai thought he had become picky when it comes to some females. Goku thought it was ridiculous and said that it was Gojyo they were talking about so knowing him, he wouldn't miss an opportunity to hook-up. _"Maybe he ran out of condoms that's why he refused? Or something like that."_ Sanzo just takes a wild guess everytime and comes up with something unreal. He once said maybe Gojyo has come around and realized he was gay.

Hakkai's guess was a bit close to what Gojyo was really thinking but he wasn't right either. He'd still hook-up just not all the time. He realized that pleasure doesn't only come from sex; it can be felt through traveling, seeing different sights, eating, or whenever you try something new. Sometimes, you experience it through the company of others.

Gojyo's eyes still gravitate to a girl's face and body, he would still flirt shamelessly and most times, he would fill his head up with a lot of images he wouldn't dare to share out loud. He's still the way he is; he's just set his own limitations. That's his best change so far.

[*]

Hakkai admitted he was a bit tired from all the walking he and Goku did earlier that day so he suggested to eat outside.

Goku nearly ordered everything from the menu as usual and nearly pissed Sanzo off when he almost forgot to order anything that had vegetables in it. They were mostly quiet when they ate and had only started to exchange stories and laughter when Gojyo ordered beer for everyone (Goku insisted having iced tea instead).

"I wonder..." Gojyo's face lit up with a laughable expression. "Will we ever get to see you with a woman, Sanzo?"

Goku let out a very, very light chuckle which sounded like a real laugh he just chose to hold back.

"What for?" Sanzo asked, taking another swig of his beer. He sounded uninterested with Gojyo's question.

"Oh, you know what for. The closest we've seen you was way back with Sharak."

"That's an answer to your question. I don't know why the hell you're asking if you already have an answer." Sanzo smirks.

"Touché, Sanzo." Hakkai remarked.

"Bastard." Gojyo takes a gulp and looks back at Sanzo again. "Aren't you interested in them? Did you ever come across someone you liked? Our monkey's come out of his shell and he has learned to talk to a girl, isn't it about time you do the same?"

Sanzo remained emotionless, nothing new there. But Gojyo was kind of expecting at least a bit of excitement off of his face.

"I have more important things to do than interact with the opposite gender. Unlike you, I don't find anything interesting in them." Sanzo puts it plainly. His voice had an obvious dismissing tone, but Gojyo's curiosity didn't feel like changing the topic right away. And in all his honesty, he ponders about this question a lot.

What Sanzo said was no lie. He didn't find anything worth being curious about when it comes to anyone in general.

"Nah, you're bullshitting me. There's got to be at least one time! Maybe you and Sharak had a slight thing?" Gojyo exclaims.

"Now, now, Gojyo. We've known Sanzo for such a long time now. I'm sure we've distinguished that fact ever since so there's no need to press the question further." Hakkai, as usual, shuts his companion down in the calmest way.

"Hmph." Gojyo sits back. "What about you? Will we ever see you with a girl? I mean, technically we never saw you with your last one---"

"I'd rather we don't talk about that or anything about me with a woman." Hakkai smiles.

And that smile somehow creeped Gojyo out.

"Right, right...okay well..." He immediately turned to Goku, who he was about to ask, until something caught all of their attention.

"For the love of god, eat like a lady, Lirin." Kougaiji had pressed his hand to his face.

"What the fuck..." Gojyo muttered. Even Sanzo's face was surprised.

Kougaiji, Lirin and Yaone sat three tables away.

"Well, at least our guesses were confirmed." Hakkai heartily says.

"Aww man, this is gonna be hella awkward." Goku did the same gesture Kougaiji did when he scolded his younger sister for eating improperly. "Should we leave?" He asked, Hakkai raised his hand and requested for their bill.

"Wipe your face." Kougaiji commanded again. "You're a grown woman, for crying out loud. Have a bit of decency."

Yaone giggled from her seat and looked at Kougaiji in the eyes. "Where shall we head off to after this, Kou?"

"You were right, Sanzo. She doesn't address him as 'lord' anymore." Hakkai handed the waitress his card to pay for their dinner.

"Back to the inn. This day was too tiring."

"What are you so tired about? All you did was walk around, you didn't do anything! Yaone and I did all the work---" Lirin had caught the eyes of four men who were seated tables away from them.

Sanzo and the others almost jumped from their seats. They all didn't realize they were all looking at Kougaiji's table.

"Holy shit..." Gojyo whispered and turned to stand up. "Let's go, let's go, let's go..."

"Is that...?" Lirin squinted her eyes, trying to recall who those four men were. Kougaiji and Yaone turned to look in the direction she was looking at.

"I'll just go get my card from the counter, I'll meet you outside." Hakkai says and leaves their table.

"The Sanzo party?" Kougaiji mutters.

For a good five seconds, there was a great, big cloud of tension. Sanzo just walked out of sight followed by the other two and they all met up with Hakkai outside. Goku and Hakkai didn't know whether to laugh or not with what had just happened while Gojyo found it extremely awkward that for a moment, he had no clue what to do.

"What a shitty thing to happen." Gojyo takes out a drag as they started walking back to their hotel. "I can't believe we actually ran into them after all these years."

He couldn't help but look for one person in the group whom he remembered dead.

"They hardly said anything. They simply looked just as surprised as we were." Hakkai said, snapping Gojyo out of his daze.

"They didn't look like they were gonna fight, too. Maybe they're just out here trying to fit in? On a vacation...or something." Goku's innocence takes on full effect as he remembered how nothing but pure shock was painted on Yaone's, Kougaiji's and Lirin's faces.

"Doesn't matter. As long as they stay in their lanes then everything's fine. I'm sure they know the moment they do some shit to attack, we'll be fighting back twice as hard." Sanzo said, his tone vibrating with confidence.

Gojyo somehow stayed silent. He followed the other three back to their hotel without saying another word. Hakkai, of course, noticed his sudden change of mood and tried to stall Goku from trying to mock him whenever they talked about something that would have sparked tension between the two.

[*] [*]

Everyone was asleep peacefully; Goku and Gojyo shared a room while Sanzo and Hakkai stayed in the other.

In the living room, there laid at the top of the center table was Goku's wallet, next to it was his watch. This man's hand reached out to it and tucked it inside his pockets, pressing deeper to make sure it doesn't fall out. He wasn't satisfied with what he took so he entered the first room he had reached. Behind the door was a rack where Gojyo's pants hung, his wallet and a few bills peaked out of it's pocket. As sneaky as he entered the suite, he grabbed the items and opened the door again to move to the other room and didn't bother going for the phone clutched on Goku's hand.

Because Sanzo and Hakkai knew how to put their stuff away neatly, this man found it hard to make it to the side table drawers next to each of the beds where their valuables were most likely hidden. Unlike the other room, there were no racks their clothes could hang to.

He tiptoed his way to Hakkai's table first and slowly, very slowly, opened the drawer to find Hakkai's cellphone, credit card and silver bracelet in it. He smirked when Hakkai shuffled and faced the other way around, meaning he did not detect the intruder in any way. _"Is it me or is this just too easy?"_ He told himself.

With one look at Sanzo's sleeping face, he knew this man with golden hair was probably an important person. And being an important person only meant one thing to him; he was definitely a rich person.

He made sure he opened the drawer without making the slightest sound. Inside was a wallet, two scrolls of whatever that did not spark his interest and finally, a gun. That last one looked old but precious and it would probably be worth a lot. He took the items and placed in a bag that went around his body.

Sanzo didn't even budge. This man was too proud of himself because he was gonna make it out again with pockets and a bag full of stolen valuable items and money. No one was ever gonna catch him.

Not until he tiptoed to the door and found Gojyo and Goku standing behind it with faces that lit up with glorious expressions.

"You didn't think you'd be leaving without saying goodbye, did you?" Gojyo's smirk was so sharp, it could have pierced through the man's eye.

"What th---"

"I'm gonna need my wallet back." Goku put his hand out and smirked too, but not as piercing as his Gojyo's.

"Should I hand you money for you to pay for my credit card bill?" Hakkai switched the lamp on as he sat up straight on his bed, a sweet smile on his face.

"Give me my gun back before I shoot you with it." Of course, Sanzo was also awake.

This man's face was drained of color. He was probably thinking of the possible things he'd have done with the money but all that shattered to pieces when these four men have been actually on to him the moment he climbed inside the living room window. "Aren't you going to hand our stuff back?" Goku asked.

With a swift move that Gojyo didn't see coming, the man threw his hand to punch him in the face which Gojyo saved himself from by ducking out the way. This turned out to be some sort of a diversion, seeing that the man dashed outside the room, jumped out the window he came in and ran for his life.

"Goddammit, you monkey! Why didn't you catch him?!" Gojyo yelled.

"Why didn't I catch him? Why did you slump back onto me when you dodged his fist?! I could have grabbed him if you hadn't blocked the way!" Goku yelled and ran after the man who had just escaped from their hands.

"Damn water sprite." Sanzo muttered past Gojyo and ran after Goku.

"How is it my fault?! I almost got punched!"

"Come on, Gojyo. We need to get our stuff back. I assume he took your wallet and you know we made a pact not to lend the other money while we're on this trip. You'd die of starvation if we let him get away." Hakkai said with his usual calm self.

"What is with you being so calm when he took your only means of financial shit?" Gojyo asked, following Hakkai who just jumped out the window.

"Oh, it's because I know there's no point getting mad. He got in, got our stuff, the only thing to do is take it back. But it is quite frustrating that he ran off, we could still be asleep if he had just given up."

"Yeah but of course he'd run. He knows we'd beat him up."

"Hey, get back here!" Goku said.

To everyone's surprise, this mysterious person was very fast seeing as Goku couldn't keep up. Sanzo was twice as frustrated because if he had his gun, he would have been shooting bullets from where he was. Gojyo almost held back when the man entered a forest and suddenly jumped from tree to tree, making it hard for the four of them to keep track of him.

"What is this guy?! A fucking ninja?!" He said trying to keep his sight on the man.

"He's over there!" Hakkai spotted him quickly from his right and all four of them turned. "Gojyo, try and use your Shakujo to chain him down!"

"Got it!" With Hakkai's command, Gojyo did as he was told and summoned his weapon. The chained sickle rose in the air and tried to bind the man down but he was too fast, the chain couldn't catch him. "What the fuck, what is this guy! I can't reach him!"

Seeing Gojyo's weapon was useless, Goku jumped as high as he could and gladly made it to one branch. Unfortunately, he wasn't as fast as this thief but with all his might, he was able to keep up.

"Hurry up, Goku!" Sanzo yelled from behind. He grew more frustrated. He didn't want to use any of the scrolls he had with him because it would have been too risky, not to mention, an exposure to his identity.

"I'm trying!" Goku summoned his Nyoi Bo and tried to think of a way he could use it.

Gojyo could see the ends of the woods as they ran, but for a moment, he thought he caught a sudden movement on his left. He didn't have time to slow down but he kept his eyes peeled open for any attacks. He didn't sense anything, no demonic presence or so, but he suddenly had the feeling they weren't the only ones in the forest.

"Hakkai. Keep your eyes open." He said as quietly as he could as he continued to run.

"You saw that too, huh." Hakkai didn't turn to look at him.

"Yep. Looks like we're in for something else tonight."

Sanzo saw the end of the forest and ran faster than he could. "Longer, Nyoi Bo!" Goku's staff extended and he aimed it at the man who took one final jump before he could exit the forest.

The man grunted in pain when he fell harshly on the floor. The four who were on his tail stopped a few feet away from him and watched him regain his posture.

"Phew, that was quite an exercise." Hakkai said.

"You got us this far, might as well turn our stuff out right now before I beat the crap out of you." Gojyo spat.

"You got me tired in the middle of the night with an empty stomach, that's gonna cost you." Goku growled.

But Sanzo was most angry among all of them. He never liked being waken up in his sleep and running out to chase some guy only made it 10x worse. His eyebrows scrunched so hard, it was hard to tell if it was ever going to get back to its original position. "Give me my fucking gun."

The man trembled in fear of the four men who stood before him. Goku took steps towards their robber when a loud rustling came from the bushes behind them, causing all of them to look in that direction.

A great, big boulder shot out from the sky and landed inches away from the mysterious man, Goku tripped over his own feet and fell on the floor, the other three looked around for anyone behind them and the man shook in fear.

"What was that?!" Goku yelled getting back to his feet again.

"Why...does this scene look a little familiar to me..." Gojyo said in dismay.

And as if right on cue, a loud, female voice came yelling from above. Lirin landed on her feet with an angry expression across her face, Yaone jumped in next to her, Kougaiji came in last.

"Great. Just great." Gojyo sighed.

"Thanks for rounding him up for us, guys!" Lirin said. "Alright!" She pointed at him. "You better give me back my wallet and my bracelet! And give Yaone back her purse!"

The man took out everything he stole one by one, his hands trembled and shook like crazy. He didn't dare take one look up the people who stood before him, fearing they might hurt him without warning. The last one he took out was Sanzo's gun and he quickly snatched it from the man's hand.

He raised his hands up in surrender and said, "that's everything, I swear! My pockets are empty, my bag is too! Just please have mercy, let me go!"

"After dragging us all the way out here? Nah. I could have still been asleep!" Gojyo snarked.

"Yeah, I could still be in bed, sleeping my way to breakfast!" Goku yelled back while Gojyo muttered something that sounded like, "of course, he says something about food."

Sanzo took a good look at this man's appearance and noticed he was clean and properly dressed. He thought that if this mysterious man was somehow poor and had to result to stealing to live, he would have let him off. But he looked like a decent man with an average lifestyle and this infuriated him, wondering what had provoked him to go around and made thievery a hobby.

"What's your deal?" He aimed his gun at the man's face. "You don't look like you're in need of money or other valuable shit. What's your plan?"

"He looks to me like this isn't the first time he's been out sneaking in people's places and taking their stuff. Who are you?" Hakkai observed and interrogated the man calmly, hoping he would compose himself and answer Sanzo before he fires a bullet. "Perhaps you are working for someone?"

"What, he's being blackmailed?" Goku questioned.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just assuming it but we'll never know if he doesn't speak up. Sanzo's finger is already playing around his gun's trigger." Hakkai smiled.

The man still shook in fear, unable to speak. This gave Hakkai and Sanzo the impression that he must have information that he cannot freely say.

"Come on, let them handle it." Kougaiji broke the silence.

"Let's wait a little more, Big Brother! I wanna know what this guy's up to."

"You're wasting my fucking time." Sanzo growled and pressed his gun at the man's forehead, ready to pull the trigger. Goku could hear the mysterious man's heartbeat racing and pounding against his ribcage and everyone else saw how his face twisted in fear. Finally giving in and not wanting to die, he opened his mouth to talk.

In a blink of an eye, the sound of a bullet being fired echoed around the forest; the man fell on his knees and his body dropped dead on his side, blood oozing from his head.

Yaone recovered from when she flinched at the sound of the gun while Kougaiji noticed something rather odd with the situation.

"Geez, Sanzo. You could have let him explain for a bit, he looked like he was gonna start talking." Gojyo sighed.

"That wasn't me." Sanzo spun around so fast, for a moment he thought his neck broke.

Hakkai took a closer look and found the problem. Sanzo pointed the gun to the man's forehead but the bullet smashed it's way inside the man's skull from the left side of his head. Realizing the bullet was shot from a different gun by a different person, he turned to face a darker area still thickly covered by the woods as Goku and Gojyo caught up on the scenery.

"What the hell is going on?" Kougaiji growled from his side.

"Hold your fire!" Said a different voice that echoed from the direction Hakkai and Sanzo were staring at. Three men who looked like they were in their late forties emerged from the bushes with their hands raised up in surrender. "We don't mean you no harm, we just came after that man." The man in the middle pointed at the robber.

"Who are you?" Hakkai asked, Gojyo mumbling to Goku in the background. _"Why are there people coming out of nowhere all of a sudden?!"_

"We're no one important." Said the one from the left. "We just want our stuff back. He's been taking our greatest possessions these past nights and we've been unable to catch him until tonight."

"You had a hard time catching this guy? We detected him without even trying." Gojyo stated confusingly.

"He's not very easy to catch. We knew someone was out and about stealing from houses because more people have been complaining of they're valuables missing these past days."

"But we believe he isn't the only one. There's most likely a group he is in...possibly doing tasks for a big boss or the likes." The man in the middle says again.

"What makes you say that?" Goku asks.

The man on the right puts his gun away and hides his dagger. "The people from the neighborhood have been complaining about money and appliances being stolen and some have said even legal documents such as leases, properties and other big inheritances have been snatched away too. And all lot like these can be stolen in just one night which is very impossible for just one man to do. There's probably a secret association this guy's in."

"Well, that explains why he looked very hesitant to say anything. Maybe there is." Hakkai said, his eyes reverting its way to the now dead robber. "He was successful in hiding his secret until tonight. But all we need are our stuff back. We are travelers, we won't be staying long and we'll be leaving as soon we can." He smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "We won't really be digging into more of this man's connections and influences. We'll be off."

"Get your stuff. We're leaving." Sanzo demanded at once.

After picking his wallet and watch up, Goku turned to the three gunmen and opened his mouth to ask a question that popped in his head. "How are you gonna ask him questions now that he's dead? You did shoot him with good aim."

"I was aiming for his shoulder blade but it's the poor eyesight." The man in the middle chuckled, he looked proud despite admitting his claimed disadvantage.

"Well maybe our dear Sanzo here needs to jam his eyesight out a bit if it means his aims will get more accurate." Gojyo sneered.

"How about I try improving my aims with you as my target?" Sanzo pointed his gun at Gojyo who raised his hands in surrender.

"We'll take it from here. He should be wearing anything that would give away anything about him."

The three gunmen dragged the man's dead body and claimed they had a wagon nearby. They said they'll be pushing an investigation regarding this man's thievery.

With one last (and awkward) interaction between Sanzo's group and Kougaiji's, the only ones who actually had a decent conversation was Hakkai and Yaone, both of whose personalities were still so pleasant towards the other. While Goku complained to Sanzo about how it was still so early and Lirin doing the same to Kougaiji, Gojyo couldn't help but remember that one person who he'd talk to when the others were preoccupied.

 _"Agh, man. Did you really have to die, brother?"_ Gojyo asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dunno why i make such long ass chapters but...anyway. I somehow...really wanna mix a bit of Harry Potter Magic in this. But how?! Besides it being difficult, it's probably gonna be extremely weird.
> 
> I had major writer's block in this one. Hope you still find this entertaining! 


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